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THE 



SYLVA AMERICANA; 



A DESCRIPTION OF THE FOREST TREES 



INDIGENOUS TO THE 



UNITED STATES, 
PRACTICALLY AND BOTANICALLY CONSIDERED. 

ILLUSTRATED BY MORE THAN ONE HUNDRED ENGRAVINGS. 

By D. J. BROWNE. 



... arbore sulcamus marca, terraequs admovemus 
rbore ixadificamut Ucta, 

Plinii Secundi: JVttt. Hist., lib. xii. 



BOSTON : ^ 
PUBLISHED BY WILLIAM HYDE & CO. 



M DUCG XXXI 1 



»> 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the Year 1832, 

By William Hyde & Co. 
in the Clerk's Office of tlie District Court of Massachusetts. 



I'KKSS OK JAWKS I-OUINfJ. 






TO THE 

ir- 

MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, 



ZEALOUS AND ENLIGHTENED EFFORTS 

HAVE 

SO GREATLY CONTRIBUTED TO THE ADVANCEMENT 

OF 

HORTICULTURE IN THIS COUNTRY, 

TfllS WORK 

IS 

BIOST RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED 

BY 

TIIK AUTHOR. 



PREFACE. 



Among the variety of useful and interesting productions abounding 
in this vast continent, none claim our attention in a more eminent degree 
than the indigenous trees uf our forests. Independent of ornamenting the 
earth and of furnisliing us with timber and fuel, they arrest the progress of 
impetuous and dangerous winds ; maintain the temperature of the air by 
diminishing extreme cold, and regulating intense heat ; oppose the forma- 
tion of ice, and shelter the earth from the scorching rays of the sun ; pro- 
duce an abundance of water in the streams, and oppose a barrier to washing 
away or undermining their banks ; preserve and enrich the soil on hills 
and mountains ; discharge the electricity of the atmosphere ; and serve 
as laboratories for purifying the air we breathe. 

The trees of our country recall the idea of it in the most forcible man- 
ner, wherever we meet them ; and are often the first objects that attract 
the attention of those who have been long absent from their native land, 
and who, on their return, pour out their genuine effusions of joy on behold- 
ing them. We are aware that many an American has sighed under the 
shade of the banana for a sight at the village elm, the well-known oak, or 
the unchanged pine of New England. We are told of a young Indian, 
Pontaveri from Otaheite, who, amidst the splendor of Paris, regretting the 
simple beauty of his native island, sprang forward at the unexpected sight 
of a banana tree in the Garden of Plants, embraced it, while his eyes were 
bathed in tears, and exclaiming with a voice of rapture...." Ah ! tree of my 
native country !" seemed by a delightful illusion of sensibility, to imagine 
himself, for a moment, transported to the land which gave him birth. 

In the United States, there are more than 140 species of forest trees, 
which exceed 30 feet in height : in France, there are but 30 trees that attain 
this size, of which 18 enter into the composition of the forests, and 7 only 
are employed in building. Though vast tracts of our soil are still veiled 
from the eye of day by primeval forests, the best materials for building are 
nearly exhausted. And this devastation is now become so universal to 
supply furnaces, glass houses, factories, steam engines, &c. with fuel, that, 
unless some auspicious expedient offer itself, and means be seriously and 
speedily resolved upon, for a future store, one of the most glorious and 



VI PREFACE. 

considerable bulwarks of this nation will, within a few centuries, be nearly 
extinct. With all the projected improvements in our internal navigation, 
whence shall we procure supplies of timber, fifty years hence, for the con- 
tinuance of our navy ? The most urgent motives call imperiously upon our 
government to provide a seasonable remedy for such an alarming evil : 
from a government like ours, which is the faithful expression of the public 
will, and which has no concern but the prosperity and honor of a nation, 
prospective wisdom is demanded. 

From the sensible decay and general havoc made in our forests, we 
should be reminded, that such as do yet remain entire, may be carefully 
preserved, and the loss of such as are destroyed, sedulously repaired. 
There is no part of husbandry which men more commonly neglect than 
that of planting trees, without which, they can neither expect fruit, 
ornament or delight from their labors. But they seldom do this till they 
begin to be wise, that is, till they groAV old, and find by experience the 
prudence and necessity of it. When TTlysses, after a ten years' absence, 
was returned from Troy, and found his aged father in the field planting 
trees, he asked him, " Why, being now so far advanced in years, he 
would put himself to the fatigue and labor of planting that, of which he was 
never likely to enjoy the fruits ? The good old man, taking him for a 
stranger, gently replied, " I plant against my son Ulysses comes home." 
The application is obvious, and instructive both to old and young. 

It seems hardly possible for any mind to become so debased as to be 
insensible to the effects of nature, whose vegetable charms become 
endeared to us as our age and reflection increase. But the more terrible 
the sight, and the more violent the impression, the more agreeable is it to a 
greater portion of mankind, who run with avidity after objects of horror, 
while they pass unnoticed those which produce gentle and agreeable sen- 
sations ; and it seems to all appearances, that they would rather tremble at 
the awful thunderbolt of Jupiter, than calmly admire the bounteous horn of 
plenty ; and many who will not cross their thresholds to look at a beautiful 
scene of nature, will eagerly rush forward to get a sight at a storm or ship- 
wreck in the play house. A more delightful cabinet of natural history can 
scarcely be found than the forest or plantation affords. It oflers matter for 
contemplatiGn of the most agreable kind, 

Which varies stiil as seasons still revolve ; 

and as every tree and shrub has its peculiar inhabitants, we have al; ,the 
same time a collection of animal and vegetable wonders, sufficient 'to 
occupy all the leisure which our economical duties pillow us. Every tree 
we plant adds to the entertainment, which we are preparing for future 
years, for ourselves, our friends and our country. 

Under the foregoing circumstances the author of this work has been 
induced to compile the Sylva, the object of which is to furnish the public 
with the history of all the important species of forest trees indigenous to 



PREFACE. Vll 

the United States, treating of their uses and application to the arts with 
the most approved modes of their culture and propagation. 

He flatters himself that the course he has pursued in the execution of 
his task wUl be found more practically useful than if he had followed a 
more scientific path. He has been anxious to render his Avork acceptable 
to the great body of American agriculturalists, whom he most ardently 
entreats to turn their attention to the delightful and important pursuit of 
Arboriculture. 

He does not claim or aspire to entire originality, but has consulted the 
most judicious ancient and modern works on the subject, a list of which is 
given on the succeeding page. 

He is sensible that the task he has chosen is a responsible one ; and he 
confidently ventures before the public with the hope, that a generous allow- 
ance will be made for its unavoidable imperfections, when the extent of the 
undertaking is considered ; premising, that any errors into which he may 
have been inadvertently led, will be cheerfully corrected when apprized 
of their existence. 

It is evident, from the nature of this publication, that little of it belongs 
to the Author. As a compiler he has endeavored to be faithful ; and, in 
collecting facts, he has selected such as would be deemed the most useful ; 
but whether he has made use of the proper materials must be left for a 
candid and enlightened public to decide. 

THE AUTHOR. 

Boston, April, 1832. 



Ldst of Works which have been consulted. 

The names of authors are given in many instances in this work, but in 
general the quotations are so much altered, or taken from so many sources, 
that it could not be done with convenience. The principal works consulted, 
or from which extracts have been made are as follows : Bigelow's Medical 
Botany, Bigelow's Sequel to the Pharmacopaeia of the U. S. Darwin's Phyto- 
logia, DecandoUe's Philosophy of Plants, Du Hamel, Evelyn's Sylva, Keith's 
Physiological Botany, Lempriere's Lectures on Natural History, Library 
of Useful Knowledge, Linnseus' System of Nature, Loudon's Encyclopsedia 
of Agriculture, Loudon's Hortus Britannicus, Michaux' North American 
Sylva, Miller's Gardener's Dictionary, Mirbel Traite D' Anatomie et de 
Physiologic Vegetales, Nuttall's Introduction to Botany, Philosophical 
Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Pursh's North American 
Flora, Smith's Introduction to Physiological and Systematic Botany, Sylva 
Florifera, Sylvan Sketches, Transactions of the London Horticultural 
Society, Waterhouse's Botanist. 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



PART I. 



VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 

By a vegetable, we mean an organized body possessing 
vitality, power of growth and reproduction, deriving its nourish- 
ment directly from the eaith, or from substances in which earthy 
matter is more or less present, but without perceptive powers, 
or voluntary locomotion ; the two latter properties belonging 
exclusively to animals, and forming the principal line of dis- 
tinction. 

Hence every living substance of the above description, 
whether it be a tree, a shrub, an herb, a grass, or a flower, 
is in reality a vegetable ; and the whole, taken together, 
constitutes what is termed the vegetable kingdom. Of these, 
nearly one hundred thousand species, each possessing its own 
peculiarities, form and laws, have already been discovered, and 
the list is annually increasing. The subject, therefore, inde- 
pendently of its practical application, is one of deep interest 
and importance ; and the more it be examined, the greater field 
we find for inquiry, and an increased reason for admiring the 
contrivance, wisdom and benevolence, by which this interesting 
portion of the universe has been regulated. 
2 



10 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

To describe each particular organ of a vegetable, is denomi- 
nated the anatomy, and to' enter upon the functions of those 
organs with the results, the physiology of vegetables. To explain 
their component or constituent parts, belongs to the province of 
vegetable chemistry. And to treat on the sources by which their 
growth is promoted, and their productions increased, comes 
under the head of chemical agriculture, or agricultural chemistry. 

From the great similarity and strong analogy of the laws of 
the vegetable and animal kingdoms, many modern philosophers 
have considered the vegetable and animal kingdoms united by 
one link, and forming a part of the same system ; or, in other 
words, that a vegetable is only an inferior order of animal. 
But admitting how nearly in many instances the laws of each 
approximate, and how greatly a knowledge of the one facilitates 
that of the other ; yet the more frequent presence of perceptive 
powers, and more especially of a choice and capacity of motion 
in the one kingdom, and a total abstinence of those qualities in 
the other, present so broad and strong line of distinction, as 
should make us pause before we admit a doctrine directly at 
variance with our common observation, and so opposed to the 
idea we have entertained of the intents and purposes of creation. 
All that we ought to allow, is that resemblance only in the 
physical properties and laws of the two kingdoms, by which the 
vitality peculiar to each is preserved, the different parts are 
nourished, growth promoted, secretions produced, reproductions 
effected, and the common principles of decay and dissolution 
are brought into action. But here their analogy ceases. 

Vegetables, we know, require a particular temperature, season, 
soil and aspect, for their growth and maturity, and, in many 
instances, even for their very existence. In cold climates, they 
are, in consequence, proportionably limited in the number of 
their species ; and, in the winter, even of temperate regions, 
many of their functions are suspended ; they cease to grow, 
they part with one of their most essential organs, their leaves, 
and they require the return of a more congenial season, before 
their variously animating powers are again roused into action. 
Animals, on the contrary, so long as the vital principle be 



VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 11 

continued, "preserve their various functions in full activity and 
similitude, in whatever temperature, season, soil, or aspect, they 
may be placed ; and a loss of any of their important organs, or 
a considerable interruption to the functions of the others, very 
frequently terminates in their general dissolution. 

Vegetables, again, have not a brain and nervous system to 
endow them with perceptive powers, or, as far as we can judge, 
with sensation ; nor muscles to promote their locomotion, so 
necessary to most animals which are to make choice of their 
food, and whose means of supply are not confined to a narrow 
circle as in vegetables, in which nature by their peculiar 
mechanism, has bestowed on them the means of obtaining their 
nourishment from the soil which first gave them birth. For 
this purpose the latter are permanently fixed to one spot in the 
earth, and the vital spark having once been excited, their 
different movements are rendered dependent upon principles, in 
which the will has no concern, and where perception cannot be 
required. 

These reflections necessarily lead us to a consideration of the 
structure and functions of vegetables, in which the analogy of 
the two kingdoms will be further illustrated, and of the line of 
distinction, we hope, satisfactorily explained. 

To consider vegetable physiology in all its relative bearings, 
it will be requisite to divide the subject into four distinct heads. 
First, the structure and functions of those parts of a vegetable 
which contribute to its nourishment and preservation, including 
the root, trunk, branches and leaves. Secondly, of those organs 
which are necessary to its reproduction, and these have reference 
to the flower, fruit and seed. Thirdly, the process of generation 
and germination, of the food and agents effecting its growth, and 
the formation and completion of a new plant. And lastly, the 
casualties affecting the life of vegetables, consisting of wounds, 
diseases, natural decay and renovation. 

But previously to entering into a particular description of the 
several organs, it will be proper to observe that vegetables, like 
animals, are composed of fluids and solids. The fluid parts 
produce those which are solid ; and the only aliment which 



12 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

effects and preserves plants, being in a liquid or aei»eform state, 
it is wonderfully contrived that there should be an organic 
vascular system for its distribution, and that it should likewise 
possess the vital power of assimilation, in order to effect and 
perpetuate the growth which takes place, and to diversify the 
products which characterize the innumerable variety of plants 
which constitute the vegetable kingdom. 



General Texture of Plants. 

Much light has been thrown upon the general texture of 
vegetables, by the microscopic figures of Grew, Malpighi and 
others, but more especially the observations and highly magnified 
dissections of M. Mirbel. From preceding writers we have 
learned the general tubular or vascular structure of the vegetable 
body, and the existence of some pecuhar spirally-coated vessels 
in many plants. On these slender foundations physiologists 
have, at their pleasure, constructed various theories, relative to 
the motion of the sap, respiration and other functions, presumed 
to be analogous to those of animals. The anatomical observations 
of Mirbel go further than those of Grew, Stc, and it is necessary 
to give a short account of his discoveries. 

He finds, by the help of the highest magnifying powers, that 
the vegetable body is a continued mass of tubes and cells ; the 
former extend indefinitely, the latter frequently and regularly 
interrupted by transverse partitions. These partitions being in 
the corresponding cells, and each cell increasing somewhat in 
diameter after its first formation, except when restrained by the 
transverse partition, seems to account for the hexagonal figure.* 
The membraneous sides of all these cells and tubes ar§ very 
thin, more or less transparent, often porous, variously perforated 
or torn. Of the tubes, some are without any lateral perforations, 
at least for a considerable extent; others pierced with holes 
ranged in a close spiral line ; in others several of these holes run 
together, as it were, into interrupted spiral clefts ; and in some, 



For illustrations of this part of the subject, see Plate I. 



VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 13 

those clefts are continued, so that the whole tube, more or less, 
is cut into a spiral line ; which, in some young branches and 
tender leaves, will unroll to a great extent, when they are gently 
torn asunder. The cellular texture especially is extended to 
every part of the vegetable body, even into the thin skin, called 
the epidermis, which covers every external part, and into the fine 
hairs or down which, in some instances, clothe the cuticle itself. 
Before we offer any thing upon the supposed functions of these 
different organs, we shall take a general view of the vegetable 
body, beginning with the root, the first organ to be described. 

CHAP. I. 

Anatomy of the Root. 

The root, which, though often differing in its bulk and shape, 
is similar in all its structure and use, (with the exception of the 
bulb, which, from containing the rudiments of a new individual, 
may more properly be considered a variety of the seed,) is that 
part of the vegetable which fixes the plant to the ground, is its 
organ of nourishment, and the apparatus by which, through its 
various ramifications, below the surface, it imbibes food from 
the soil. 

In its structure, it is composed of the same parts as the stem 
and branches, and therefore may only be considered as the stem 
inverted ; the lower portion of the tube dipping into the earth, 
and forming itself into minute ramifications without leaves ; and 
the upper portion ascending, and producing buds, branches and 
leaves. This has been illustrated by experiments made upon the 
plum, cherry and willow, in which, by inverting the stem and 
root, the former has become a root, sending out ramifications, 
and the latter a stem producing leaves, flowers and fruit. The 
stifucture of the root and stem is therefore one and the same 
thing, and it is the situation in which each is placed, and the 
operation of the surrounding medium, that makes the difference ; 
giving to each, a variation in its chemical and medicinal properties 
though their physical structure continue the same. 



14 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

The main body of the root, which has been termed the caudex, 
upon its first penetrating the ground, possesses but very limited 
powers of affording nourishment ; and it is not until it has sent 
forth its ramifications or radiculcB, and these ramifications have 
issued still finer filaments of capillary diameter, that an extensive 
absorption can be efiected. These minute tubes, by dipping 
into the soil in the direction where there is the least opposition, 
abstract from it, by some undiscovered process, those nutritive 
parts, which, through the agency of water, become sap, and 
convey it to the caudex, from whence it rapidly ascends to the 
stem and branches, and thence to the uttermost extremity of the 
leaves, there to undergo a new modification to be hereafter 
explained. The root therefore may be considered as acting the 
same part towards the vegetable, as the stomach does to the 
animal ; though the apparatus and the fluid prepared, bear but 
little similarity. 

Of the Trunk or Stem. 

In cutting the trunk of a tree from the circumference to the 
centre, the instrument passes through seven distinct parts, in the 
following order : 

1. The epidermis, which extends over the surface of every 
vegetable, as before described. It is also called cuticle, false 
skin and the like, names which anatomists have given to the 
external covering of animals. There is a striking analogy 
between the animal and vegetable cuticle or skin. In the former 
it varies in thickness from the delicate film which covers the eye, 
to the hard skin of the hand or foot, the coarser covering of 
the ox, or the hard shell of the tortoise. In the latter it is 
exquisitively delicate, as in tbp, covering of a rose leaf, and hard 
and coarse in the rugged coats of the elm and oak. In the 
birch, you may see the cuticle peeling off in circular pieces. 
The vital principle seems wanting in it j this is the only part of a 
living plant which is dead. In the larger trees and shrubs, the 
bodies of which, in themselves, are strong and of firm texture, the 
latter property is not of so much importance ; but in the reeds, 



VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 16 

the grasses, the canes with hollow stalks, and in the various 
farrlnaceous seeds, where it is most essential that their structure 
should be protected from the action of insects ; nature, to render 
it more strong and resisting, has given it a glassy rind of net- 
work, composed principally of a silicious earth, which Sir H. 
Davy has ascertained in many instances, is capable of striking 
fire upon the application of the steel. 

2. Tfie cellular integument, which lies immediately under 
the cuticle, and is for the most part of a green color, at least in 
the leaves and branches. This is in general the seat of color, 
and in that respect analogous to the rete mucosum, or pulpy 
substance situated under the human cuticle, which is pale in the 
European, black in the Negro, and red in the American ; but 
we must carry the analogy no further, for these two parts 
perform no functions in common. Du Hamel supposed this 
pulp to form the cuticle ; but this is improbable, as his experi- 
ments show, when that membrane is removed, that the cellular 
integument exfoliates, at least in trees, or is thrown off in 
consequence of the injury it has sustained, and a new cuticle, 
covering a new layer of the same succulent matter, is formed 
under the old one. Annual stems or branches have not the 
same power, any more than leaves. 

Mirbel remarks that " leaves consist almost entirely of a plate 
of this substance, covered on each side by the cuticle. The 
stems and branches of both annual and perennial plants are 
invested with it ; but in woody parts it is dried up and reproduced 
continually, such parts only having that reproductive power. 
The old layers remain, are pushed outward by the new ones 
and form at length the rugged, dry, dead covering of the old 
trunks of trees." 

The petals of flowers are almost entirely composed of cellular 
texture, the cells of which are filled with juices fitted to refract 
and reflect the rays of light, so as to produce the brilliant and 
delicate tints which constitute so great a portion of their beauty. 

3. The cortex or true bark of the plant, known to every one 
by the name of bark. It consists of but one layer in plants and 
branches only one year old, and often not distinguished from 



16 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

the wood. In the older branches and trunks of trees, it consists 
of as many layers as they are years old. 

The bark contains a great number of woody fibres, running 
for the most part longitudinally, which give it tenacity, and in 
which it differs very essentially from the other parts. These 
woody fibres when separated by maceration, exhibit in general 
a kind of net-work, and in many instances great regularity and 
beauty of structure. 

In the bark the peculiar virtues or qualites of particular plants 
chiefly reside, and more especially in several of its internal 
layers nearest to the wood. Here we find in appropriate vessels 
the resin of the fir and juniper, the astringent principle of the 
oak and willow, on which their tanning property depends, the 
fine and valuable bitter of the Peruvian bark, and the exquisitively 
aromatic oil of the cinnamon. The same secretions do indeed, 
more or less, pervade the wood and other parts of these plants, 
but usually in a less concentrated form. 

4. The liber, which is the inner layer of the cortex or bark. 
It consists of lamince or plates, bound together by a cellular 
matter, which, when dissolved by maceration in water, detaches 
these plates or coatings from each other ; when they resemble 
the leaves of the books of the ancients ; whence arose the name 
of liber. The liber is softer and more juicy than the cortex. 

It is in this layer only that the essential vital functions are 
carried on ; after a while it is pushed outward with the cellular 
integument, by the successive formation of new layers, and with 
the cellular integument finally becomes a lifeless crust. Grew, 
Malpighi, Du Hainel and others, supposed that the libe ■ annually 
changes, by hardening, into the alburnum or young wood, an 
opinion also maintained by Mirbel, and some of the ablest 
philologists, but which is founded upon mistaken principles. It 
is through the liber, however, that the matter in which the new 
wood is formed, which annually augments the diameter of the 
trunk and branches, is secreted ; and hence the importance of 
this portion of the bark. 

As the net work formed by the dividing threads of the meshes 
is not readily dissolved in water, while the cellular matter which 



VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. X7 

fills them up is remarkably soluble, the liber of some plants, as 
the Lace tree, (Daphne Lagetto), when soaked in water and 
afterwards beaten, forms a very beautiful vegetable gauze; 
which may be used as an article of dress. A coarse specimen 
of this gauze, or lace, is seen in the bark of many of our 
mdigenous trees, particularly the oak, when it has been long 
exposed to the weather, after being separated from the trunk. 
The natives of Otaheite manufacture garments from the liber of 
the mulberry. The liber of flax is by a more refined process 
converted into linen. This regular arrangement, however, of 
the longitudinal texture of the liber is not found in every instance; 
for on the fir and some other trees, the longitudinal threads are 
seen lying nearly parallel to one another, without any meshes or 
intervening cellular matter. 

This part of the bark is important to the hfe of vegetables • 
the outer bark may be peeled off without injury to them, but the 
destruction of the liber is generally fatal. The operation of 
girdUng trees, which is often practised in new countries, consists, 
in making with an axe, one or more complete circles through 
the outer bark and the liber of the trunk. Trees seldom survive 
this operation, especially if it has been performed early in the 
spring, before the first flow of the sap from the root towards the 
extremities. 

5. The alburnum, or sap wood, which may be considered 
the grand vascular organ of the plant, which is made up of cells 
and tubular vessels ; the cells being constantly filled with the 
rising sap, which, after undergoing some changes, is taken up 
by the tubes and conveyed to the leaves to their utmost extremity ; 
and having from them received a new modification, the sap is 
returned by the cortical vessels back to the trunk, and thence to 
the minutest filaments of the roots. 

The alburnum is at first soft and vascular ; but it afterwards 
becomes hard, and in some trees, is of a density almost equal to 
iron. While in the soft state, it is endowed with nearly as much 
irritability as the fiber, and performs functions of great importance 
in the vegetable system ; but when hardened, these functions 



18 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

cease, and in lime it loses even its vitality ; not unfrequently 
decaying in the centre of the trunks of trees ; which, often, still 
flourish, and put out new shoots as if no such decay existed. 
To carry on, therefore, the functions of the wood, a new circle 
of it is annually formed over the old ; and thus, also, the diameter 
of the trunk and branches present, by the number of these 
annual zones, a pretty correct register of their age, each zone 
marking one year in the life of the part. The hardness of these 
zones of wood increases with the age of the tree, being most 
dense in the centre, and less and less hard as they approach the 
circumference. 

Various opinions have been entertained respecting the origin 
of the alburnum. Mr. Knight, however, by various experiments, 
has satisfactorily proved that it is formed from the secretion 
deposited by the vessels of the liber, but that it is not, as had 
been supposed by Du Hamel, Dr. Hope and Mirbel, a trans- 
mutation of the liber itself. 

Mr. Knight is of opinion, that the bark deposits the alburnous 
matter ; but that the leaves are the organs in which this matter is 
elaborated from the sap ; or, that the alburnum is generated from 
the cambium of Grew, which is part of the proper juice of the 
plant, formed by the exposure of the sap to the light and air in 
the leaf, and returned from it by the vessels that pass down from 
the leaf into the interior bark, by v/hich it is deposited, and we 
may add, elaborated by the action of the vital principle inherent 
in this part of the plant. To determine this point, he removed 
narrow circles of bark from roots of apple trees, " leaving a leaf 
between the places where the bark was taken off; and on 
examining them frequently during the autumn," he found that 
the diameter of the shoot between the insertion of the leaf stalk 
and the lower incision, was as much increased as in any other 
part of the tree ; but when no leaf was left " on similar portions 
of insulated bark, on other branches of the same age, no apparent 
increase in the size of the wood was discoverable." 

These experiments explain the reason why trees and shrubs 
having their leaves destroyed by caterpillars form scarcely any 
new wood in. that season ; and, indeed, every one who has 



VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 19 

pruned a tree, or shortened a growing twig, must have observed 
that the part above the last leaf always shrivels and dies, while 
all below it continues to live and increase in diameter. 

6. The lignum^ or heart wood, which, when present, is seated 
below the alburnum, seems principally intended, (like the bones 
of animals,) to give soUdity, form and support to the more solid 
parts of the plant, and is mostly observable in old trees. 

Substantial as is the wood or ligneous part of a tree, it is 
nevertheless so far from being an essential part, that many plants 
are without it. The arundaceous plants, as the reeds and the 
grasses, and, indeed, all the gramina, are naturally hollow. 

7. The medulla, or pith, which is a soft and spongy, but 
often succulent substance, occupying the centre of the root, stem 
and branches, and extending in the direction of their longitudinal 
axes, in which it is inclosed as in a tube. In its structure it is 
exactly similar to that of the cellular tissue of the bark ; being 
composed of an assemblage of cells, containing a watery and 
colorless fluid. Its form is regulated by that of the cavity it fills, 
which in the majority of instances is nearly circular; but to this 
there are many exceptions. Thus in the horizontal section of 
a young stem of the elder (Sambucus) and the plane (Platanus), 
we find it circular, but furrowed by the bundles of the spiral 
vessels of the part that surrounds it. In the ivy and ash it is 
oval ; irregularly oval and furrowed in the plane ; triangular in 
the oleander (JVerium Oleander) ; pentangular in the European 
oak ( Quercus Rohur) ; four-sided, with the angles obtuse, or 
tetragonal, in the common lilac, and yellow-flowering horse 
chesnut (^sculus Flava) ; and pentagonal in the walnut 
(Juglans regia). But besides the diversities of form which the 
pith presents, it varies in diameter in other respects. In the 
young tree, of a few inches in height, it is smallest at the basis of 
the stem, largest in the middle, and smaller again at the summit ; 
and in the growth of each future year, nearly the same variations 
in its diameter are observable. In trees more advanced, pressed 
and acted upon by the heart wood, it begins to diminish ; and in 
very old trees it disappears altogether. 

Linnaeus attributes great importance to the pith, and erroneously 



20 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

asserts, after Bradley, that it gives birth to the buds. Some botan- 
ists of the first rank beUeve, that the pith is, in a plant, what 
the brain and spinal marrow are in the inferior order of animals. 
" The pith," says Darwin, " appears to be the first or most essential 
rudiments of the new plant, like the brain, spinal marrow, and 
medulla oblongata, which is the first visible part of the figure of 
every animal fcetus from the tadpole to mankind." It seems, 
however, that the pith is not essential, or absolutely necessary to 
vegetation, as we often observe trees to live and thrive without 
it. The guaiacum or lignum vitae, it is said has no pith. Most 
naturalists, however, consider the pith only of secondary import- 
ance ; though they allow its use in making good the nutritive 
exhaustion which the rapid growth of young shoots never fails to 
produce. 

Of the Bud s. 

No part of the vegetable structure has been examined with 
more accuracy than that of buds, (GemmcB), from the time of 
the faithful and diligent Grew, to that of the discriminating and 
candid Knight, and yet it is very singular that little was known 
of their physiology until the experiments and observations of the 
last gentleman were made public. To him, therefore, we are 
indebted for some of our most valuable knowledge on this 
subject. 

A bud is that part which contains the rudiments of a plant, or 
of a part of a plant, for a while in a latent state, till the time of 
the year, and other circumstances, favor their evolution. From 
buds, then, an entire plant may be produced, if placed in 
favorable circumstances, or only a branch, or leaves, or flowers. 
We can, however, reckon no more than two kinds, those that 
produce leaves, and those that produce flowers. There is the 
closest analogy between these organs and bulbs ; so close, 
indeed, that Mirbel, and some others, arrange them together. 
Practical cultivators mark distinct characters pecuhar to each 
kind of bud. Those that produce leaves are small, long and 
pointed ; the flower buds, again, are thick, short and round. It 
appears probable that some unknown agents influence the 



VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 21 

formation either of flower buds or of leaf buds, or rather 
that some circumstances will cause the evolution of either 
of them from the same bud. A fact recorded in the Linnsean 
Transactions in some measure favors this opinion. The 
Solandra grandiflora, a native of Jamaica, had been long 
cultivated in the English stoves, and propagated by means of 
cuttings ; but none of the plants ever displayed any signs of 
fructification. They had been always well supplied with water. 
One plant, by accident, was left without being watered in the 
dry stove at Kew : the consequence was, that the branches were 
much stunted in their growth, and flowers were produced. The 
experiment has been frequently repeated with success. It 
appears, that whatever checks the luxuriance of the leaves, tends 
to the formation of flowers and seeds. 

For the purpose of converting leaf buds into flower buds, 
various expedients may be used with advantage : such as scorino- 
the bark to the wood very deeply with a knife, twisting a wire 
tightly round the stem, or by cutting off a cylinder of the bark, 
and replacing it with a bandage. 

It IS said that there is an intermediate species of bud, which 
retains some of the characters of each. A striking difl^erence 
has been noted between the leaf and the flower buds ; the first 
may be removed with impunity from its original situation, and 
placed in the earth, where it will vegetate with luxuriance ; but 
the last uniformly dies. Both may be removed to another stock 
with success. This operation is called budding, or inoculation, 
and is well known to gardenerss Each bud may be considered 
a distinct being, containing parts precisely similar to those of the 
parent tree, which, when favorably situated, will develope them- 
selves, and form a plant retaining all the peculiarities of the 
parent. If those qualities are such as will constitute a 
variety, they will also be perpetuated ; and of this, we have 
many familiar examples in the various fruit trees commonly 
cultivated in our gardens, on many of which, budding is the only 
means of procuring good fruit. The branch formed by the 
moculated bud alone yields proper fruit ; nor is the stock, on 
which the budding has been performed, in the least degree 



22 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

altered. The crab, on which the finest apple has been budded, 
still remains a crab : thus proving, that it serves merely as a 
source from which the young bud derives its nourishing matter ; 
although it is highly probable, from the difference of the results, 
that, that matter undergoes some peculiar elaboration, after 
leaving the vessels of the original stock. On this principle, five 
or six different species of fruit have been known to be budded 
on the same tree, and which, in full fruit, exhibited a singular and 
beautiful spectacle. It is impossible to say how a bud torn from 
one tree, . and put in the place of another bud in another tree, 
should become a perfect branch, producing flowers and fruit in 
the highest perfection j but attempts have been made to trace 
the various steps of nature in effecting her operations. Accord- 
ingly it is said, that after the fresh bud has been inserted into the 
wound, formed by the extraction of another bud, that the 
cambium unites the two parts, forms a connecting medium for 
the vessels of the bud and the tree, and thus enables the 
vegetative process to go on whenever nature requires it. Mr. 
Knight has noticed some facts worthy of record ; and he states 
that " a line of confused organization marks the place where the 
inserted bud first comes into contact with the wood of the stock, 
between which line and the bark of the inserted bud, new wood, 
regularly organized, is generated. This wood possesses all the 
characteristics of that from which the bud is taken, without any 
apparent mixture with the character of the stock in which it is 
inserted. The substance which is called the medullary process, 
is clearly seen to spring from the bark, and to terminate at the 
line of its first union with the stock." 

The usual position of buds is in the axil of the leaves, except 
in the genera Mimosa, Gleditschia and a few others. The buds 
are opposite to each other when the branches or leaves are 
opposite, alternate when the latter are alternate, and terminal 
when the leaves are terminal. In those plants that have both 
opposite and alternate leaves or branches, the buds are commonly 
solitary. 

Various forms are assumed by different buds, according to 
those of the contained leaves; an admirable adaptation of 



VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 23 

convenience to beauty and regularity being always preserved. 
Nature has given different coverings to different vegetable 
productions, according to the peculiarities of their respective 
climates. In northern regions, the buds are almost universally 
clothed with scales, or with a downy substance ; sometimes these 
are conjoined, besides being coated with a resinous matter. 
The horse chesnut and some of our walnuts are good illustrations 
of large and well-formed buds. By means of these coverings, 
the young bud is enabled to brave the vicissitudes of the seasons, 
and to be ready to burst forth on the first approach of spring. 
This singular power of retaining its vitality, has been considered 
by some physiologists as the distinctive character of true buds. 
The most external of the scales are dry and hard, while those 
that are more protected from the influences of the weather, are 
soft and succulent. Take a bud, for instance, of the horse 
chesnut, and close the part which has been just separated from 
the stock with wax, plunge it into water, and it will remain there 
without undergoing any alteration for a number of years. 

In mild, or even in warm countries, buds have no scales, as 
they do not require them. Those trees that form an exception 
to this observation, can thrive indifferently in any climate ; so 
that the rule holds in all distinct cases. The scales are consid- 
ered by many as imperfect leaves. 

The internal structure of buds is said not to differ, in any 
respect from that of the plumule, previously to its being detached 
from the seed. Some have fancied, that they have seen the 
rudiments of every part of the tree concealed in the bud. We 
are much inclined to question the accuracy of such very minute 
observers, and, of course, are more willing to impute any errors 
to optical deception, than any wish to mislead. 

The bark and the pith have generally been considered the 
source of the buds ; but the ingenious experiments of Mr. Knight 
have set aside both of the hypotheses, and have established, as 
far as the present state of the science will permit, the doctrine, 
that they derive their origin from the alburnous portion of the 
tree. This gentleman first showed, that they do not originate in 
the pith or bark ; and also, that Du Hamel's opinion of pre- 



24 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

existing germs being their source, is at least improbable. He 
then proves that the " alburnous vessels at their termination 
upwards, invariably join the central vessels, and that these vessels, 
which appear to derive their origin from the alburnous tubes, 
convey nutriment, and probably give existence to new buds and 
leaves. It is also evident, from the facility with which the rising 
sap is transferred from one side of a wounded tree to the other, 
that the alburnous tubes possess lateral, as well as terminal orifices : 
and it does not appear improbable, that the lateral as well as the 
terminal orifices of the alburnous tubes, may possess the power to 
generate central vessels, which vessels evidently feed, if they do not 
give existence to the reproduced buds and leaves. And therefore, 
as the preceding experiments appear to prove, that the buds neither 
spring from the medulla nor the bark, / am much inclined to 
believe that they are generated by central vessels, ivhich spring 
from the lateral orifices of the alburnous tubes^ By interrupting 
the circulation in the alburnum, buds may be artificially produced ; 
and nature has provided means for their reproduction, in those 
cases where they may have been accidentally destroyed. Several 
curious facts on this subject may be obtained by an examination 
of the potato, which like other tuberous roots, are studded with 
them. 

Buds of all kinds are formed about mid-summer ; after which 
it has been stated, " that there seems to be a kind of pause in 
vegetation for about a fortnight." Darwin imagined that a store 
of nourishing matter is collected during that period, which 
produces that apparent pause. The season of developement is 
most usually that of the spring, when nature seems to delight in 
new products : it is then that the buds are evolved, and enter 
upon the important functions they are destined to perform. 
Nothing, however, is known of these functions beyond the general 
result. Branches, leaves and flowers are produced by buds ; 
but what are the particular operations by which these effects are 
produced? The answer is easy but unsatisfactory. Buds 
transpire, and in all likelihood produce the same chemical change 
on the atmosphere with the other parts of the plant. 



VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 25 



Or THE Branches. 



Branches are the subdivisions of a stem or trunk, which are 
found on many herbaceous plants, but are chiefly noticed on 
shrubs and trees. The primary branches spring immediately 
from the trunk ; the secondary ones from the primary ; and so 
on in a regular subordination, till they terminate in slender twigs. 
They consist of precisely the same anatomical parts as the trunk, 
and with the exception of a root, are in fact little trees, which, if 
separated from their parent stock, and planted in the earth under 
favorable circumstances, would throw out roots, and become 
independent plants. They proceed from buds formed within 
the surface of the trunk, which interrupt the parallelism of its 
fibres, and form knots in the wood. These knots afford a point 
of support and centre of motion to the growing branches, and 
are sunk more deeply in the wood in proportion to their age. 
Branches are supposed to originate from a convolution of vessels ', 
so long as the vascular bundles proceed in an uninterrupted 
straight line, so long will the stem remain straight ; but whenever 
they form a knot, nature appears to make new efforts, and a 
branch is produced. 

The lower branches are often nearly parallel to the horizon at 
right angles with the trunk : those above them make angles more 
and more acute, as they are placed nearer the summit ; but 
these angles differ in different species, and in every individual 
tree are subject to numerous varieties, from the influence of 
external causes. Some branches produce only leaf and new 
branch buds : others produce only flower buds. The former 
are smooth in their surface, pliable and tough, with close straight 
fibres, easily separated from each other : the latter are wrinkled 
at their base, have their fibres less compact, and break short 
when struck. There aie also branches which pierce the bark 
without a bud, and form what is commonly called false wood. 
These, as they are often luxuriant in their growth, and rob the 
more useful branches of their due nourishment, are carefully 
4 



V. 



26 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

pruned away by the skilful planter and horticulturist. They 
have a rough bark, and produce only a few blackish buds. 

Of Th orn s. 

Thorns are stunted branches ; their imperfect form may be 
owing to the buds being partially evolved, from want of proper 
nutrition. Indeed, that it is, in a great degree, owing to such a 
cause, is proved by the conversion of thorns into branches on 
removal into richer soil. This fact is well known to gardeners, 
as many fruit trees, which are thorny when wild, become smooth 
when cultivated, ^ome times the foot-stalks of pinnate leaves 
that have fallen off become thorns, as in the case in the 
Astragalus tragacantka, or goat's thorn milk vetch. 

Of Prickles. 

Prickles may be taken off with the bark, and is therefore a 
mere elongation of that organ, which is chiefly composed of 
cellular substance, and of cortical vessels. There is this 
remarkable distinction between the prickle and the thorn, that 
no cultivation whatever can convert the former into a shoot, as 
is the case with the latter ; for the vessels become very rapidly 
hard, separate from the stem, and at last is merely retained by 
the exterior covering. The stipules of some plants arc converted 
into prickles, as in Bei-heris vulgaris, or common berberry. 

Of the Flower stalk and Footstalk. 

The flower stalk and foot stalk are also composed of cellular 
texture, of central and cortical vessels, which convey the 
vegetable juices to and from the leaf. 

Of the Tendrils. 

Tendrils have the same structure as the preceding, and are in 
fact elongated foot stalks, without the leafy expansion, which 



VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 27 

adds to their length ; and being unable to support their own 
weight in a straight line, they assume the spiral form. Willde- 
now ascribes a considerable influence to the current of air in 
determining the direction of the tendril. 

Of the Sap vessels and Sap. 

Much contrariety of opinion has existed among physiologists 
concerning the vascular system of plants, and the nature of the 
propulsion of the sap through their stems and branches. Indeed 
it is a subject upon which very erroneous ideas hg,ve prevailed. 

That the whole vegetable body is an assemblage of tubes and 
vessels is evident to the most careless observer ; and those who 
are conversant with the microscope, and books relating to it, 
have frequent opportunities of observing how curiously these 
vessels are arranged, and how different species of plants, 
especially trees, differ from each other in the structure and 
disposition of them. Such observations, however, if pursued no 
further, lead but a little way towards a knowledge of the 
wonderful physiology of vegetables. 

That plants contain various substances, as sugar, gum, acids, 
odoriferous fluids and others, to which their various flavors and 
qualities are owing, is familiar to every one ; and a little reflec- 
tion will satisfy that such substances must each be lodged in 
proper cells or vessels to be kept distinct from each other. 
They are extracted, or secreted from the common juice of the 
plant, and called its peculiar or secreted fluids. Various 
experiments and observations prove also that air exists in the 
vegetable body, and must likewise be contained in appropriate 
vessels. Besides these, we know that plants are nourished and 
invigorated by the agency of water, which they readily absorb, 
and which is quickly conveyed through their stalks and leaves, 
no doubt by tubes or vessels on purpose. Finally, it is observable 
that all plants, as far as any experiment has been made, contain 
a common fluid, which at certain seasons of the year is to be 
obtained in great quantity, as from the vine branches by wounding 
ihera in the spring before the leaves appear, and this is properly 



28 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

called the sap, by which the whole body of the plant is nourished, 
and from which the peculiar secretions are made. 

In a young branch of a tree or shrub, or in the stem of an 
herbaceous plant, are found, ranged round the centre or pith, a 
number of longitudinal tubes or vessels, called by Mr. Knight 
central vessels, of a much more firm texture than the ad- 
jacent parts, and when examined minutely, these vessels often 
appear to be constructed with a spiral coat. This may 
be seen in the young twigs and leaf stalks of the elder, 
lilac and many other shrubs, as well as in numerous herbaceous 
plants, as the peony, and more especially many of the lily tribe. 
If a branch or stalk of any of these plants be partly cut through 
or gently broken, and its divided portions slowly drawn asunder, 
the spiral coats of their vessels will unroll, exhibiting a curious 
spectacle even to the naked eye. In other cases, though the 
spiral structure exists, its convolutions are scarcely separable at 
all, or so intermediate as to be only marked by an interrupted 
line of perforations or slits, as shown by M~ Mirbel. Indeed, the 
very same branches which exhibit these spiral vessels when 
young, show no signs of them at a more advanced period of 
growth, when their parts are become more woody, firm and 
rigid. No such spiral-coated vessels have been detected in the 
bark at any period of its growth. 

Besides the central vessels, Mr. Knight has described another 
set that traverse the alburnum, whence they are distinguished by 
the name of alburnous tubes. Through them the sap also 
ascends ; for the destruction of a circle of bark does not prevent 
the formation of buds and leaves ; " but," says Mr. Knight, 
" the alburnous vessels appear to be also capable of an inverted 
action, when it becomes necessary to preserve the existence of 
the plant." The cortical vessels of Mr. Knight, which can 
hardly be considered the same with the vasa reducentia of 
Willdenow, (although they are said to perform the same function) 
exist in the bark, and serve to reconvey the circulating sap to 
the root. It is suspected, that there may be two sets of these 
vessels, one which nourishes the bark, and another that secretes 



VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 29 

particular fluids in the bark. Lymphatic vessels have also been 
described ; but we have met with no satisfactory account of them. 

The functions of the vessels of plants have been as variously 
described as the organs themselves. Malpighi supposed them 
to be air vessels ; Grew declares, that they sometimes contained 
moisture ; and Du Hamel suspected that they contained " highly 
rarified sap." The experiments of Darwin and Knight, have, 
to a certain degree, determined their uses. The former placed 
twigs of the common fig tree into a decoction of madder, and 
on taking them out after some hours' emersion and cutting 
them across, the colored fluid w^as found to have ascended into 
each branch, and the cut ends of the vessels formed a circle of 
red dots around the pith, and these vessels again were surrounded 
by other vessels containing the milky juice, so very remarkable 
in the fig tree. The latter (Mr. Knight) made similar experi- 
ments with cuttings of the horse chesnut and of the apple tree, 
with an infusion in water of very black grapes. The result 
corresponded with those of Darwin. He, however, pursued the 
investigation still further, and traced the fluid into the leaves ; 
and during the whole course it did not give the slightest tinge to 
the bark, nor to the sap between it and the wood. The pith 
was very slightly, if at all affected. The radicles are probably 
elongations of these vessels which absorb the proper fluids from 
the earth, and convey it into the body of the root, where it 
becomes sap by some process which we cannot develop ; it is 
then conveyed to the stem and leaves, where certain other 
changes take place, that are to be hereafter noticed. The 
functions of the alburnous vessels appear to be two fold, according 
to the views of Mr. Knight. At one period, they convey sap to 
the leaves in common with the central vessels : and during the 
winter, they serve as reservoirs of the juices of the plant, which, 
after having undergone certain changes in the leaves, are there 
deposited until the approach of spring, when they contribute to 
the formation of those new parts which are necessary for the 
vital action of the vegetable. 

The cortical vessels seem to carry the sap back to the roots 
through the bark, and, in its course, it possibly forms alburnum. 



30 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

or at least furnishes the materials. All this, however, is a mere 
probability, as we know very little with certainty connected 
with it. 

The ascent of the sap varies according to the season of the 
year, and the state and temperature of the atmosphere ; being 
suspended during the winter, and most active in the spring, when 
vegetation recommences, and previously to the full expansion of 
the leaf; that at the vernal season, Dr. Hales has ascertained by 
experiments on the vine, in the heat of the day it will rise in 
glass tubes adjusted for the purpose, at the rate of an inch in 
three minutes, and attain in these tubes the height of more than 
twenty feet; and that, by its force upwards, it will sustain a 
column of mercury, of thirty-eight inches, equivalent to the 
pressure of a column of water of more than forty-three feet ; 
which force, he says is, " five times greater than that of the blood 
in the crural artery of a horse, seven times greater than that of 
a dog, and eight times greater than the blood's force of the 
same artery in a fallow deer." 

It is difficult, to determine by what means the sap is propelled 
through the vessels : the agitation of the winds, the form of the 
vessels, the action of the heat, the pressure of certain plates, 
called silver grain, in the oak, are all supposed to contribute to 
this end ; and very possibly they do this to a certain extent 
We confess, however, that they do not appear to our minds 
adequate causes. It is a matter of some moment to ascertain 
how the function is performed ; but our knowledge of facts is so 
very imperfect, that it is impossible to frame any reasonable 
hypothesis on the subject. In this, as in every other department 
of physics, men are too prone to step beyond the limits within 
which their actual knowledge should confine them. 

Of the Le av es. 

This part of the plant which contributes so much to its beauty, 
(though infinitely diversified in its forms), is in all cases similar 
in its organization as well as its functions. It consists of a thin 
and flat substance usually of a green color, issuing generally 



VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 31 

from the extremity of the branches, though sometimes from the 
stem; and is to be distinguished by the sight or touch, into an 
upper and under surface, a base, a midriff or central line of 
division, and into lateral lines, or, as they have been improperly 
termed, lateral nerves. 

In its structure, the leaf is made up of a continuation of the 
cellular tissue, which forms its principal bulk, of a distribution 
of the alburnum or -sap wood, of a small portion of the lignum or 
heart wood, and of the upper extremities only of the cortical 
vessels : all of a peculiarly minute and fine texture, form- 
ing a delicate net work ; the whole being covered by the 
epidermis, the size of the leaf varying, from the smallest pro- 
portion that can be distinguished by the naked eye, to a magni- 
tude that almost exceeds belief, namely, to several feet m. 
diameter. 

The functions of this very interesting organ may be considered 
the most important of any which are connected with the preser- 
vation of the plant. To illustrate these, it is to be recollected 
that the nutritive ingredients, when first absorbed, are only in 
the simple state, held in solution by a considerable proportion of 
a watery fluid ; and require the aid of a further process before 
they possess the consistency and the chemical properties requisite 
to produce the various secretions which are to contribute to the 
nourishment and preservation of the plant. The agent, to effect 
these important changes, are the leaves ; and the process, by 
which those changes are accomplished, is, in the first place, by 
evaporating a considerable proportion of the watery part of the 
simple sap as it is conducted from the roots, by which its fluidity 
is diminished ; and, in the next, by absorbing, or taking up from 
the atmosphere, a certain proportion of its oxygen, caloric, light, 
and of various nutritive materials, held in solution in that element; 
by which, through chemical agency, new principles are commu- 
nicated to the fluid, now denominated," the pi-opei- juice or true 
sap, previously to its descent, to supply the different parts of the 
plant with renovating secretions. 

To promote this object, the surface of the leaf is rendered 
broad and extensive, the tubes and cells exquisitely fine and 



iia SYLVA AMERICANA. 

delicate, their texture throughout, porous and transparent, and 
the orifices of the epidermis (so essential to the process) numer- 
ous beyond calculation, and so extremely minute, as to require 
very powerfully magnifying glasses to detect them ; their diam- 
eter being only adapted to the absorption and extrication of 
vapory fluids in the highest degree of tenuity. 

The processes of transpiration and absorption, as peculiar to 
the functions of the leaves, are indeed of a most highly interesting 
character, and require a far more able pen than mine to do 
justice to their illustration. Upon the new or ascending sap 
reaching the leaves from the roots, the operation of transpiring a 
portion of its watery particles commences from the smooth or 
upper surface of the leaf, as soon as the sun rises, and continues 
until the approach of night; by which the sap acquires more 
consistency, and is thus rendered fit to receive those materials, 
which are to be imparted to it through the agency of absorption. 
This evaporation is so considerable, that Dr. Hales, whose 
experimental accuracy has never been questioned, has ascertained, 
that a cabbage transmitted daily more than half its weight, and 
that a sunflower, three feet high, transmitted in twenty-four 
hours, a watery fluid equal to twenty ounces. 

While this watery evaporation is going on, an absorption by 
the same surface of the leaf of the carbonic acid gas of the 
atmosphere, and a decomposition of some of the water left in the 
sap, are taking place ; by which, in the former instance, the 
carbon is separated and fixed in the sap, and the oxygen gas is 
set at liberty ; while in the latter, the hydrogen is communicated 
to the sap, and its oxygen gas also becomes free ; by which 
operations, the sap has- acquired two of the leading principles 
necessary to vegetables, the .carbon and the hydrogen 5 while a 
double supply of oxygen, or the vivifying principle, is restored 
to the atmosphere, by which its purity is preserved against the 
deterioration to which it is uniformly exposed by animal respi- 
ration, combustion and mineral absorption. 

During the night the under surface of the leaf absorbs moisture 
from the air, or from the evening dew, to make up in some 
degree the deficiency of the previous day's evaporation, and takes 



VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 33 

up oxygen from the atmosphere, by decomposing it and setting 
part of the nitrogen at liberty : a portion of the oxygen thus 
absorbed, is fixed in the sap, and the other part, uniting with the 
superfluous carbon in the plant, forms carbonic acid gas, which 
escapes from the leaf and mixes with the atmosphere. This 
will serve to explain, why the night air is less salubrious than 
that of the day ; and the necessity of a large proportion of oxygen ' 
being set at liberty during the day, to obviate the injury which 
the atmosphere sustains by the operations of the night. 

Thus we perceive the leaves of plants perform very different 
operations at different times ; since during the day, they are 
giving out moisture, absorbing carbonic acid gas, and emitting 
oxygen gas ; during the night, they are absorbing moisture, 
giving out carbonic acid and nitrogen gases, and taking up 
oxygen gas. By these operations assisted by the agency of 
light, (which, independently of its imparting color to the leaf, 
contributes essentially to its chemical changes,) the sap receives 
all the primary principles which constitute the plant — namely, 
oxygen, hydrogen, carbon and nitrogen ; by the various com- 
binations of which, nourishment to the plant is not only produced, 
but also through the agency of secretion, those other substances 
are elaborated which we know can be extracted from vegetables ; 
and which, taken from one description of vegetable or another, 
amount to no less than thirty-one, exclusively of those which, 
belonging to the mineral kingdom, have been denominated 
extraneous ; while, by a very beautiful process, the purity of the 
atmosphere is so balanced within the twenty-four hours, as to be 
fitted for all the purposes of animal and vegetable economy. 
Thus by a wonderful piece of mechanism that cannot be too 
much admired and investigated, and in the construclion of which 
there is still a wide field for discovery, the sap in its simple state 
is absorbed from the earth by the roots, and conveyed through 
the cells and the tubes of the wood into the leaves ; where by the 
processes of evaporation and absorption (as just explained) it 
acquires new principles and becomes the true sap. It is then 
taken up by the extreme vessels of the bark, and by them 
conveyed back to the branches, stem and root ; depositing in its 
5 



34 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

passages through the cortical vessels into the cavities of the 
cellular tissue for elaboration, such portions of it as are to be 
applied to the purposes of nutrition, or to those secretions that 
are necessary for the preservation of the plant. 

The functions of the leaves have been compared to the 
respiration of animals, by which the blood parts with its superflu- 
ous water, and acquires new principles from the atmosphere ; 
and hence the leaves have been denominated the lungs of the 
plant. But in this, as in every other instance, a strong line of 
distinction may be drawn. The change in the leaf is simply 
effected by exudation and absorption, both of which are varied 
according to the existing temperature and the time of the day. 
That in the lungs is accomplished by muscular action, and is 
uniformly the same at all periods, and under every atmospherical 
change. Animal respiration destroys the purity of the atmosphere. 
Vegetation restores it j the deterioration of the night being amply 
balanced by the renovating operations of the day. In the 
winter, when foliation is suspended, the absence of vegetation is 
supplied by the agitating storms of the season, bringing with 
them purifying breezes from the ocean j or rendering less 
stationary the deleterious exhalations of the land. 

Thus in the natural as in the moral world, occurrences, which 
individually appear to be very striking evils, collectively are 
productive of the greatest degree of good ; and the functions of 
organic substances, which from their primary effects carry with 
them strong features of similarity, when more closely investigated, 
are found to be productive of very opposite consequences. 

Color of Leaves. The coloration of plants presents one of 
the most interesting, and, at the same time, obscure branches of 
physiological research. Humboldt attributes the green color of 
leaves to the agency of hydrogen, because he had observed some 
plants retain their green color in mines. Saussure, however, 
could not increase the green of plants by means of hydrogen. 
Humboldt also ascribes the white color to oxygen, which seems 
to be erroneous, as this oxygen existed in a state of combination 
previous to its being made apparent, and cannot therefore be 
proved to produce this white color. Senebier's phlogistic 



VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 35 

hypothesis is unworthy of detailed notice. His subsequent 
opinions respecting the operation of carbon, do not seem to be 
better founded. This philosopher, as well as Berthollet, deter- 
mined many important facts. There is a very evident connexion 
between the decomposition of carbonic acid gas and the green color 
of leaves, as is shown by the following results. Green leaves only 
yield oxygen gas ; the parenchymatous substance of the leaf is 
the seat of decomposition of the gas, and of the green color ; 
the coloration will take place in leaves separated from the stem, 
so that there can be no living action in them ; consequently the 
coloration is independent of the life of the plant. 

It appears from the various experiments of Berthollet, Senebier 
and others, that solutions of the colorable parts of leaves are 
rendered red or green according to the predominance of acid or 
alkaline matter ; but similar effects will be also induced on entire 
leaves. Etiolated leaves, and those reddened by age, pass into 
green in alkaline fluids ; those that are yellow from decomposition, 
become brown in the same ciixumstances. Ellis observed, that 
if the green color had been previously affected by the action of 
water, that alkalies did not restore it. On these facts this physj- 
ologist ventures to presume, " that these same agents (acids and 
alkalies) if present, will exert a similar action on leaves during 
their growth." 

He first establishes the existence of a large quantity of alkaline 
matter in the leaves, and shows that the separation of the carbonic 
acid, and its subsequent decomposition, render the alkali pre- 
dominant, and consequently better fitted to exert its specific 
influence " on the colorable juices of the plant," which produces 
the color of the leaf. So that according to Mr. Ellis's views, 
the decomposition of the carbonic acid answers two purposes, 
the production of oxygen gas and the formation of the green 
color. 

If the green color depend on the predominancy of alkaH, it 
may be reasonably supposed that the white color depends on a 
deficiency of it. Senebier's experiments support this supposition, 
and his results have been confirmed by Davy and others. This 
whiteness of color will continue so long as the acid abounds ; 



36 . SYLVA AMERICANA. 

and accordingly we find that plants growing in the shade are 
etiolated, or devoid of the green hue, until they are placed in the 
full sunshine. The various shades of color exhibited by different 
leaves immediately before their fall are effected by similar 
causes, and consequently are explicable on the same principles. 
In the same way, too, the variegation of different leaves may be 
resolved, or at least the agents that produced them may be 
pointed out. The mode in which these effects are induced, 
Mr. Ellis does not attempt to detail, being satisfied with the 
general fact. It would open a field of interesting inquiry, to 
examine, with care, the gradual changes from green to white, 
with all the intermediate and collateral varieties of color ; and, it 
is probable, that in the course of such researches, many valuable 
facts would develop themselves, and thus tend more clearly to 
(elucidate this branch of vegetable physiology. 



/ CHAP. II. 

Of the Organs of Reproduction. 

The organs of reproduction, as we have before stated, consist 
of the flower, fruit and seed. 

It is well understood, that upon the early advance of vegetation, 
there are to be seen sometimes upon the stem, frequently upon 
the bulbous roots, and always upon the branches, very small 
prominences denominated the gem or bud, containing the rudi- 
ments of future formations ; some expanding into leaves and 
new branches, some into flowers, and others into flowers and 
leaves conjointly. 

The flower gem, to which our attention now must be exclu- 
sively directed,, by the progress of vegetation, gradually expands 
and enlarges until the outline of the flower becomes observable ; 
when supported by the stalk or peduncle, all the several parts 



VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 37 

are progressively developed, until the flower itself bursts forth in 
full maturity and beauty. 

In no part of the vegetable creation has so much taste and 
variety been displayed as in the flower ; the brilliancy, shape, 
and fragrancy of whose blossoms cannot fail to attract the atten- 
tion of the most indifferent observer ; while the whole face of 
nature is adorned and enlivened by the diversity of their species, 
and the endless variety of their tints and hues. But it is not the 
taste displayed in the color, form and distribution of the flower, 
(however fit objects for admiration) that confers the greatest 
interest upon these organs of vegetables. It is their internal 
structure and the object they have to answer, which entitle them 
to philosophical consideration. 

The flower is composed of the calyx or cup, of the corolla or 
blossom with its petals, of the receptacle or base, and of the 
nectarium, as auxiliary ; and of the stamens with their anthera, 
and the pistil with its stigma, style and ovary or germ, ^s primary 
or essential organs of fructification. 

The calyx, which is to be found immediately surrounding the 
lowest portion of the corolla or blossom, is a green membraneous 
sac, most frequently formed in the shape of a cup, and is intended 
to defend, support and nourish the more perfect parts within. 
It is consequently made of stronger materials, that it may thus 
perform its functions uninterruptedly. 

The corolla or blossom, in which all the beauty of the flower 
is investigated, is supposed to be an extension of the inner or 
vascular part of the bark ; and consists either of a single piece, 
or most frequently of many pieces that have been denominated 
petal or petals ; and these are found to contain an infinite variety 
of small tubes of the porous kind, intended (as it is conjectured) 
for the absorption from the atmosphere and from the rays of 
-light, of those renovating materials which are to contribute to the 
support and fertility of the more essential parts of the flower ; 
while the corolla generally, defends and protects those parts 
from external injury. The mechanism of the petals therefore is 
of a very delicate and minute character ; and the corolla, by 



38." STLVA AMERICANA. 

encircling the internal parts with its foliage, is well calculated to 
answer the defensive purposes to which we have alluded. 

The receptacle is the base of the flower close to the stalk 
upon which all the other parts rest, as may be seen in the arti- 
choke, when the leaves are removed ; and which, no doubt, 
though we may not comprehend it, serves some other useful 
purpose in the economy of vegetation, independently of the 
support it affords to the flower. 

The nectarium, or nectary, consists of a small sac or bag, 
situated most frequently (though not uniformly) at the base of 
each petal, from which the honey is secreted that is supposed to 
be the source of nourishment to the internal parts of the flower. 
When the nectarium is wanting, nature has given greater activity 
to the other nutritive organs ; and when in the place of honey, a 
strong poisonous fluid is secreted, (as is sometimes the case) it 
is intended to keep off and destroy insects in those flowers which 
are particularly liable to their attacks. 

Having described the contributive, secondary, or auxiliary 
parts of fructification, we come now to the essential j and these 
are the stamens and pistils. 

The stamens, which are formed of the woody part of the 
plant, are slender, thread-like substances, varying in number in 
different flowers, and placed within the corolla, and on the 
outside of the pistil which they surround. On the top, or upper 
extremity, is situated the anther ; a small j^rominent bag, or 
viscus, which contains in cells, or rather in globules, the pollen, 
farina, or dust, (most frequently of a white, though sometimes of 
a yellow, orange, or of a violet color,) that forms the great 
principle of fertilization. From the anther descends a fine line 
of communication called the filament, which attaches the stamen 
to the receptacle, though sometimes to another part of the flower, 
according to the varying circumstances of each individual. 

The pistil, which is supposed to be formed of the pith of the 
plant, is a small and column-shaped substance, occupying almost 
invariably the centre of the flower, where it is encompassed 
immediately by the stamens. The pistils vary in number, being 
sometimes one, as in the cherry, and at others more than one. 



VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. "^ 

as in the apple and pear. It consists of at least two, but more 
generally of three distinct parts; the ovary — the style — and 
the stigma, or summit. 

The ovary is situated at its lower extremity or base, supporting 
the style and stigma, and from containing the rudiments of a new 
plant, has been denominated by Linnaeus, the germ, or germen. 
In its figure and shape, it varies in different plants ; consisting 
in some of only one cell, and in others of more, according to the 
peculiarity of each individual flower. 

The style, which is the middle portion of the pistil, is a 
prolongation of the substance of the ovary, being terminated at 
its upper extremity by the summit or stigma, thus forming a line 
of communication between the two extreme parts. 

The stigma is a small glandular-looking substance, sometimes 
of a triangular, at other times, of a circular shape, placed at the 
top of the style, and from which it is also denominated, the 
summit of the pistil ; as the style maybe termed the centre, and 
the ovary or germ, the base. 

It is upon the arrangement of the stamens and pistils, that 
Linnseus has principally formed his system of classification j the 
particulars of which may be found in most of our elementary 
works on botany. Suffice it here to say that the pistil (at its 
base) is the organ which contains the rudiments of the fruit and 
future seed ; but which seldom acquires a reproductive property, 
without the influence of the dust contained in the anther of the 
stamen ; and which being dropped, by the bursting of the 
globules, on the stigma, invests the ovary with the requisite 
fertilizing principle. 

The contents of the ovary being thus called into action, it 
gradually expands and enlarges, until by its own natural supplies, 
it is rendered independent of the other parts of the flower j and 
these being no longer required, they decay and drop off, and the 
fruit or pericarp by a progressive increase, is ultimately formed 
into all its magnitude and perfection. Thus we see the ovary, 
which in the early stage of growth, exhibited only the appearance 
of a homogeneous mass of pulpy substance, as it advances in 
size, displays the rude outline of separate organs, until it reaches 



t 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



its full magnitude ; when the embryo of a future plant may be 
discovered in the centre of its own supplies. By this process 
the pericarp, in a diversity of shapes and forms, is rendered 
perfect in all its several parts ; and as the seed, which it contains, 
is one of nature's greatest resources in the vegetable world, it is 
defended above all other parts of the plants against the accidents 
to which it may be liable. Thus in the one instance, it is 
imbedded in the soft pulpy substance of the esculent fruits ; in 
another, it is protected by thick membranes, and inclosed in a 
pod, as in leguminous vegetables ; while in a third it is surrounded 
by a hard shell or a thick cuticle, (as in the various species of 
corn), which requires a very strong force to rend it asunder. It 
is thus fitted for the purpose of future germination, which will be 
hereafter considered. 

Of the Seeds. 

The seeds are the sole end and aim of all the organs of 
fructification. Every other part is in some manner subservient 
to the forming, perfecting, or dispersing of these. A seed 
consists of several parts, some of which are more essential than 
others, and of these we shall give a particular description. 

The embryo, or germ is the most essential of all, to which the 
rest are wholly subservient, and without which no seed is perfect, 
or capable of vegetation, however complete in external appear- 
ance. It is sometimes called corculum, or little heart, punctum 
vitcB, or speck of life, and it is in the point whence the life and 
organization of the future plant originate. In some seeds it is 
much more conspicuous than in others. The walnut, the bean, 
pea, lupine, Sic. show the embryo in perfection. Its internal 
structure, before it begins to vegetate, is observed by Gaertner to 
be remarkably simple, consisting of an uniform medullary sub- 
stance, inclosed in its appropriate bark or skin. Vessels are 
formed as soon as the vital principle is excited to action, and 
parts are then developed which seemed not previously to exist. 

The cotyledons, or seed lobes, are immediately attached to the 
embryo, of which they form, properly speaking, a part. They 



VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. ,4l 

are commonly two in number, but sometimes four, and in others 
only one. When the seed has sufficiently estabhshed hs root, 
these generally rise out of the ground, and become a kind of 
leaves. Such is the true idea of the organs in question, but the 
same name is commonly given to the body of the seed in the 
grass and corn tribe, the palms, and several other plants, thence 
denominated monocotyledons, because the supposed cotyledon is 
single. It neither rises out of ground, nor performs the proper 
functions of a cotyledon, for, what these plants produce is, from 
the first, a real leaf; or, if the plant has no leaves, the rudiment 
of a stem. 

The albumen, or white, is a farinaceous, fleshy, or horny 
substance, which constitutes the chief bulk of some seeds, as 
grasses, corn, palms, lilies, never rising out of the ground nor 
forming the office of leaves, being destined solely to nourish the 
germinating embryo, till its roots can perform their office. In 
the datepalm, this part is nearly as hard as stone ; in the 
Mirabilis jalajm or four o'clock, it is like wheat flour. It is 
wanting in several tribes of plant, as those with compound, or 
cruciform flowers, and the cucumber and gourd kind, according 
to Ga^rtner. Some few leguminous plants have it, and a great 
number of others, whichj like them, have cotyledons besides. 
We are not however to suppose that so important an organ is 
altogether wanting, even. in the above mentioned plants. The 
farinaceous matter, destined to nourish their embryos, is un- 
questionably lodged in their cotyledons, whose sweet taste as 
they begin to germinate, often evinces its presence, and that it 
has undergone the same chemical change as in barley. The 
albumen of the nutmeg is remarkable for its eroded variegated 
appearance, and aromatic quality ; the cotyledons of this seed 
are very small. 

The vitellus, or yolk, first named and fully illustrated by 
Gsertner, is less general than any of the parts already mentioned. 
He describes it as very firmly and inseparably connected with 
the embryo, yet never rising out of the integuments of the seed 
in germination, but absorbed, like the albumen, for the nourish- 
ment of. the embryo. If the albumen be present, the vitellus is 
6 



43 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

always situated between it and the embryo, and yet is constantly 
distinct from the former. In the natural order of grasses the 
part under consideration forms a scale between the embryo and 
the albumen. 

The true use of the vitellus is supposed to be to perform the 
functions of a cotyledon with regard to air, if not to light, till a 
real leaf can be sent forth, and the subterraneous cotyledons of 
Gaertner in the horse chesnut and garden nasturtium are rather 
of the nature of a vitellus. It does not appear that any plant 
with genuine ascending cotyledons is likewise furnished with this 
organ ; on the other hand, it commonly belongs to such as have 
the most copious albumen, and therefore should seem to answer 
some other end than mere nutriment, which is supplied by the 
latter. 

We learn from the above inquiries, that the old distinction 
between plants with one cotyledon and those with several may 
still be relied on, though in the former the part which has 
commonly been so denominated is the albumen, as in corn, the 
real cotyledon of which is the scale or vitellus, which last organ 
however seems wanting in palms, lilies, &;c., such having really 
no cotyledon at all, nor any thing that can perform its office, 
except the stalk of the embryo. In the horse chesnut, oak and 
walnut possibly, whose seed lobes do not ascend, the functions 
of a real cotyledon, as far as air is concerned, and those of the 
albumen may be united in these lobes, as is the case with most 
leguminous plants ; which is rendered more probable, as several 
of the latter have the corresponding parts likewise remaining 
under ground. 

The testa, or skin, contains all the parts of a seed above 
described, giving them their due shape ; for the skin is perfectly 
formed, while they are but a homogeneous liquid. This coat 
differs in thickness and texture in different plants. It is some- 
times single, but more frequently lined with a finer and a very 
delicate film called by Gaertner membrana, as may be seen in a 
walnut, and the kernel of a peach, almond, or plum. In the 
jasmine a quantity of pulp is lodged between the membrana and 
the testa, constituting a pulpy seed, semen baccatum, which is 



VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOCy. 43 

distinct from the acinus, or grain of a compound berry in the 
raspberry, the seed of the latter having its proper double covering 
within the pulp. The testa bursts irregularly, and only from the 
swelling of its contents in germination. 

The hilum, or scar, is the point by which the seed is attached 
to its seed vessel or receptacle, and through which alone life and 
nourishment are conveyed for the perfecting its internal parts. 
Consequently all those parts must be intimately connected with 
the inner surface of the scar, and they are all found to meet 
there, and to divide or divaricate from that point, more or less im- 
mediately. In describing the form or various external portions 
of any seed, the hilum is always to be considered as the base. • 
When the seed is quite ripe, the communication through this 
channel is interrupted ; it separates from the parent plant without 
injury, a scar being formed on each. Yet the hilum is so far 
capable of resuming its former nature, that the juices of the 
earth are imbibed through it previous to germination. 



CHAP. III. 

Generation of Plants. 

It is well known that the ancients supposed two sorts of gene- 
ration, namely, equivocal and univocal. This latter, they said, 
took place when any thing was produced from its proper egg or 
matrix ; the equivocal, when any living thing was generated for- 
tuitously, or by chance, from the confused mixture of particles. 
Thus, for example, they believed that fleas were generated from 
urine and sawdust ; that myriads of ^little insects, like atoms, 
came up out of slimy water, and maggots out of cheese in the 
summer, that several sorts of herbs quickly sprang up out of 
mould taken from a considerable depth below the surface of the 
earth ; and lastly, that worms were produced from putrid carcasses. 
Others thought that the Creator, at the beginning, mixed seeds 



44 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

and eggs with the earth everywhere ; so that when such earth 
was dug up, and the sun by his heat, had hatched the seeds, they 
imagined that herbs, plants and animals sprung up, which were 
concealed therein from the creation. But all the ingenious men 
of this enlightened age, who have imbibed the sound principles 
of natural philosophy and natural history, have long ago rejected 
this ridiculous opinion. The Almighty at the first gave to every 
living thing its own proper seed, and to each a tendency or pro- 
pensity to propagate its species ; and established this first and 
great law to remain unalterable, " Increase and multiply." If 
from putrefaction, and the heat of the sun, living creatures and 
plants could be produced, it would have been needless, and con- 
sequently highly unworthy of the Supreme Being, to have cre- 
ated so many and so amazingly curious vessels for the preparation 
of the seed ; for in that case, putrefaction would be equivalent to 
creation. And if very minute insects and other animals could 
be produced from putrefaction, and hatched by the heat of the 
sun, why might not horses, elephants, and other large animals, 
be produced in the same way ? For in large bodies the mechan- 
ism is easier, as the matter is more manageable ; but in such mi- 
nute insects, and, as we may say, such nothings, what wisdom, 
what power, what inexplicable perfection is displayed, since 
Nature is never more complete, than in her most minute works ! 
He must be void of understanding who does not perceive the 
absurdity of equivocal generation, when he sees a body made 
with such wonderful art, and adorned with so many thousand 
pipes and canals, that no mechanic, even the most perfect of 
mortals, can find out all the contrivance, much less imitate this 
wonderful fabric ; yet he believes all those things were made by 
a fortuitous and confused concourse of atoms. For it would fol- 
low from hence, that a new species both of animals and plants 
would always occur, neither of which we observe, or have any 
account. In this case too, there could be no arguing from the 
genera to the species. In a word, there would be no such thing 
as certainty, but all confusion. Redi, having a mind to examine 
equivocal generation, put recent flesh into a glass vessel, covered 
with a very thin linen cloth, and exposed it to the sun j after a 



VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 45 

little time, he found that flies laid their eggs upon the linen cloth ; 
but no maggots were produced in the flesh. We must not con- 
•clude that insects are produced by equivocal generation, because 
we see many thousands of them about pools and ditches, where 
the putrefying filth of those places furnishes plentiful nourishment 
for them, which is the reason that their eggs are there deposited. 
The Stapelia hirsuta produces a flower that smells like carrion, 
for which reason the flesh flies, deceived by the smell, fill the 
whole flower with their eggs, taking it for putrid flesh. We have 
no reason to believe, what some have asserted, that wheat degen- 
erates into barley, and barley into oats, and oats into broom 
grass ; for every, species produces its own like ; nor was it ever 
known that the fierce eagle produced a timorous dove. Having 
confuted equivocal generation, it will follow that every hving 
thing is produced by univocal generation, or from an egg. Now 
vegetables we have already proved, are endued with Hfe, therefore 
they all proceed from eggs. And indeed the great Harvey long 
ago maintained this doctrine, that every living thing derives its 
origin from an egg. But some of the moderns have strenuously 
endeavored to overthrow this opinion, their cause being chiefly 
supported by such arguments as the following. If, say they, we 
take a part from the root, and set it in the ground, it strikes root, 
and a new plant springs up ; again, if a polypus be cut into seve- 
ral parts, from each of these parts an entire and complete poly- 
pus is formed, according to Trumbull and others. But do we 
not as frequently see that a plant produces from the same root 
several shoots or stems ? For a stem is nothing but a root above 
ground ; for which reason, if we turn a tree, as for example, the 
cherrytree, upside down, the stem will become the root, and the 
root be changed into branches. Besides, what we have said is 
farther confirmed by the branches, all of which spring from the 
stem or root ; but the stem or root from whence this branch or 
shoot was taken, arose from a seed or egg. The same thing 
may be said of the polypus among the animals ; and therefore a 
polypus lives a vegetable Hfe, or a vegetable Jives the life of a 
polypus ; and this manner of propagation, through every race in 
the animal creation, is extremely common in the vegetable king- 



46 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

dom. No one ought to wonder that new leaves are produced 
every year from the root or branches ; for in the same manner 
do we daily see the feathers of birds produced. A feather, 
which is a most curious piece of workmanship, consists of a con- 
cave base, filled with a vessel like a lymphatic, so that the nutri- 
ment can pass upward but not downward ; next there is the 
midrib and the lateral branches, both partial and proper, so that a 
feather may be compared to a fern twice compounded . Now daily 
experience informs us that feathers, though adorned with such 
curious mechanism falls off every year, and that others, springing 
from the body of the bird, succeed in their stead. Moreover, it is 
evident that feathers grow only out of the body of the bird, that 
this body is their root, and that this root owes its origin at first to 
a seed or egg. The same also holds in plants ; therefore polypi, 
and plants of every kind, have undoubtedly seeds or eggs, by 
which they are multipHed, without being cut or propagated by 
shoots, layers, branches, or suckers. Add to this, the celebrated 
Jussieu discovered eggs or seeds in the polypi as may be seen in 
the Transactions of the Stockholm Society for 1746. 

Here we are to observe that all viviparous animals have their 
eggs, out of which comes their offspring, though these eggs are 
contained in their proper matrix, and excluded in due time, in 
the same manner as an egg in the nest cherished by the incuba- 
tion of the bird, whose uterus is the nest. Nor can we deny, 
but the smallest vegetables have seeds, although not often dis- 
coverable by the naked eye. Vallsnerius has discovered the 
seeds in duck's meat ; and Michelius has done the same in the 
mucor and byssus ; Bobart in the ferns ; Linnaeus in the mosses ; 
and Reaumur in the fungi. The ancients thought that the mis- 
tletoe was produced without seed, having seen it often grow from 
the underside of branches ; for how the seeds of mistletoe could 
be conveyed from one tree to another, and there adhere to the 
underside of the branches, was very difficult for them to con- 
ceive. But time has discovered, that the thrush, swallowing the 
berries on account of the pulp, afterwards voids the seeds entire, 
which adhere with the excrements to the branches. These vis- 
cous seeds are washed by the rains, so that some of them are 



VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 47 

often protruded to the lower side of the branches, where they 
grow. Some people are persuaded, that the sessile and flat 
fungi on trees, are morbid excrecencies ; but it is obvious 
they are true species of those agarics which are furnished with 
caps and stems, and grow on the ground, whose seeds falling on 
a moist tree, produce, as it were, half cups without stems. 

That seeds are the eggs of plants, appears from hence, that 
as every egg produces an offspring similar to the parent, so do 
the seeds of vegetables, and consequently they also are eggs. 
The containing parts of a hen's egg are, the shell, the external 
film or membrane, the internal membrane lying immediately 
under the former, the clialazce, or membrane inclosing the yolk, 
twisted at the extremities. The parts contained are, the air 
within the membranes at the obtuse end of the egg, the albumen, 
or white, the viteUus, or yolk, in the centre the punctum vitce, or 
point of life. When a perfect egg is placed under a hen, after 
two days' incubation, the speck of life becomes red, sends out 
its blood vessels through the yolk, and at last we find the whole 
chick is formed out of the speck of life. The yolk becomes the 
secondines ; the white contributes to the nourishment of the 
chick ; and the two membranes become the amnion and chorion. 
Every seed of a vegetable, as we have before shown, is in struc- 
ture essentially the same as the egg of a bird, endowed with ves- 
sels, and contains under several membranes, the plant in miniature. 
When a seed is exposed to a due portion of moisture, and a just 
degree of heat, it begins to swell, and on its out side, there is 
seen a vesicle, which is the amnion of Malpighi, furnished with 
an umbilical cord, which is produced through the chorion to the 
opposite side of the egg. While with the egg the amnion in- 
creases, on its top is observed another small body, which like- 
wise augments continually, till it has filled the whole chorion of 
the egg ; and the amnion and chorion are turned into the exter- 
nal shell or coat of the seed. That most plants have seminal 
leaves or lobes is very well known. Now these seminal leaves 
once constituted the whole seed, except the hilum, or little 
heart, in which is the point of life ; and these lobes prepare the 
nourishment for the tender plant, until it be able to strike root in 



48 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

the earth, in the same manner as the yolk in an egg, becom- 
ing the placenta, prepares the nourishment, and sends it by the 
umbiUcal cord to the chick. 

From the foregoing observations, it is evident that the seeds of 
all vegetables may be considered as eggs, from which the respec- 
tive species are produced. Now, daily experience teaches us, that 
no egg can produce an animal, till it be impregnated or fecundated 
by the male ; a hen, indeed, will lay eggs, but they will prove 
abortive, unless they are impregnated or fertilized by the male. 
That generation precedes the birth, appears throughout universal 
nature. In quadrupeds it does without doubt : but in fishes, it is 
supposed by some that generation follows or comes after the 
birth or exclusion of the eggs, and that the male sperm is emitted 
upon the eggs after they are excluded from the matrix of the female. 
This is demonstrable in the salmon during the spawning season. 

Physiologists have entertained a variety of opinions respecting 
generation. After rejecting the effervescences, precipitations, 
and other ridiculous notions of the ancients, they now seem to 
acquiesce in two opinions. The first is that of the great Hervey, 
who supported that the speck of life, or cicatricula, the entire 
rudiments of the future foetus were present, perfect in all its 
members, and that it was only requisite that the male sperm 
should add or excite the first spirit, motion and life. His follow- 
ers contend, that so curious and wonderful a machine as an ani- 
mal body, could never be formed and perfected by another ma- 
chine ; and that therefore in the ovaria of the first female there 
must needs have been her offspring, or ova, and in them others 
of the same kind ; and so on in an infinite series through all the 
subsequent descending generations. In a word, that in the ovaria of 
Eve, the whole race of mankind were contained, whether, past, 
present or future. Now allowing the infinite divisibility of matter, 
yet it exceeds all belief, that so many myriads should be con- 
tained in one egg. The second hypothesis is that of Leuwen- 
hoek. He supposed that the semen masculinum contained millions 
of animalcules, and that each of the ova, in the female ovaria, had 
a small perforation, no bigger than to admit a single animalcule. 
Through this small aperture an animalcule is supposed to enter ; 



VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 49^ 

soon after which the ovum becomes detached, and, in a wonder- 
ful manner, descends the Fallopian tube into the uterus, together 
with the animalcule, which in time becomes a perfect foetus. 
But this theory is more plausible than just : for by the conjunc- 
tion of two animals of different kinds, a species is produced, 
which we call hybrid, mongrel, or mule, being of a mixed nature 
between the male and female parent. And it must be allowed 
that an animal thus formed could not be produced, were the ru- 
diments of the fcBtus to derive their origin wholly from the male, 
agreeably to this hypothesis. All we certainly know of the mys- 
terious work of generation, is, that all animals require the con- 
currence of a male and female to produce their kind ; and that 
these, distinctly and invariably, are found to beget animals of 
their own species. We know but little of those peculiar charac- 
ters in the parts that go to make up animated nature, which mark 
one animal to creep in the dust, and another to glitter upon the 
throne ! Something more certain may be discovered regarding 
the origin of vegetable life, to which we shall return. 

That we may make a full inquiry into this subject of the re- 
production of plants, it will be proper to investigate the situation 
of their organs of fructification. Now we have proved that the 
seeds are the eggs of plants ; and it appears wherever the fecundat- 
ed eggs are, there are we to seek for the organs of generation ; 
and we shall find the fructifying organs of plants where the seeds 
are produced. But the seeds are produced where the flower 
and fruit are ; therefore the flower and fruit are the organs 
of generation. Some have asserted that certain vegetables 
wanted flowers, and others both flowers and fruit. Tournefort 
maintained that the algae and mosses had seeds, but no flower ; 
and that the fungi, and some others, had neither flower nor 
fruit. Hence some of the moderns have argued against the 
fructification. But for one to deny flowers and fruit to the 
most minute vegetables, which he finds in all the larger species 
that fall under his inspection, is not the part of a fair and ra- 
tional inquirer. For it is the same as if we should conclude 
concerning some minute species of insects, that they had neither 
feet, eyes nor mouth, because we cannot discover them with the 
7 



50 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

naked eye. Bobart sowed the seeds of ferns, which grew very 
well. Plumier discovered the flowers in some of the fern kind. 
Linnaeus discovered the seeds of mosses. In the prickly club- 
moss, he observed, that one part of the fructification contained 
the fertilizing dusi, and the other the seeds ; which were evident 
signs that the plant had both flower and fruit. Michelius has fre- 
quently numbered the stamens of the fungi, and has sown their 
seeds which flourished well. From which we may conclude, 
that these lowest tribes of vegetables are all furnished with flowers 
and fruit, allhough, by reason of their exceeding minuteness, they 
have not hitherto been distinctly known to botanists. In short, 
there never was a clear and evident example produced of any 
plant which wanted flowers and fruit ; and therefore we may justly 
say, that in their fructification consists the essence of plants. 

Universal experience attests, that the existence of the flower 
always precedes that of the fruit, in the same manner as genera- 
tion the birth in animals ; so that not one example of the con- 
trary can be produced in any individual. Since in animals all 
generation precedes the birth, and in vegetables every flower 
precedes the fruit, we must necessarily ascribe fecundation to 
the flower, and the birth or exclusion of the seed to the ripe 
fruit. 

Hence we may define a flower to be the genital organ of a 
plant serving for fecundation, and the fruit to be the genital organs 
serving for the birth or maturation of the seed. All flowers, 
whatever, except the mosses, are furnished with anthers and 
stigmas, or both together ; and as this holds universally in every 
species of plant, (the mosses only excepted,) those parts must 
necessarily constitute the essence of a flower. If we find a 
flower with anthers, but no stigmas, we may also assuredly find 
another flower either on the same, or on a different plant of the 
same species, which has stigmas with the anthers or without 
them. Pontedera contends, that there are some plants which 
have no anthers, as for example, the sago palm tree ( Cycas Circi' 
nalis) the Celtis, or nettle tree, with some others ; but in this he 
is mistaken ; for even the number of the anthers in those plants 
he mentions is at present very well known to botanists. 



VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 51 

For the act of fecundation two things are requisite, namely, 
the genital organs of both sexes ; because, as we have before 
stated, one of the sexes alone cannot propagate the species. 
Now the act of fecundation is performed in the flower ; there- 
fore it follows, that the genital organs of both sexes must be pre- 
sent in the flower. We are here, however, to observ^e, that those 
organs are not always present in one and the same flower. It is 
sufficient that those of the male be in one flower, and those of 
the female in another. Since every plant bears seeds by which 
its offspring can be propagated, and no egg can be hatched before 
fecundation, it will follow, that fecundation is as necessary as the 
seeds themselves. Hence it appears, that the organs of both 
sexes, which serve for fecundation, are altogether necessary, if 
the flower is perfect, and that they are the essential parts. But 
we find no parts of a flower that are essential but the anthers and 
stigmas, therefore these parts are the genital organs of both sexes, 
serving for fecundation. Now we maintain that the anthers are 
the testes, and that the pollen performs the office of the semen 
mascuUnum. The truth of this we shall deduce by the follow- 
ing arguments. 

1. Preceding the fruit. The anthers and their dust always 
come before their fruit. When the fruit sheds its seeds, it comes 
to maturation. This is the case with the anthers ; for when they 
shed their dust, they are come to maturation, and have done 
their office ; yet their dust is always shed when the flower is in 
full vigor, and then the anthers drop, and are useless. 

2. Situation. The anthers are always so situated in the 
flower, that their dust which is the male sperm, may reach the 
pistil or female organ ; for the stamens either surround the pistil, 
as in most flowers ; or, if the pistil incline to the upper side of 
the flower, the stamens do the same j or, if the pistil nods, the 
stamens ascend. 

3. Time. The anthers and stigmas are in full vigor at the 
self-same time, and this not only when both are in one and 
the same flower, but also when they are in distinct or separate 
ones ; so that the long catkins of the hazel, birch and alder, never 
discharge the dust of their anthers before the stigmas below them 



52 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

are come out. The male hemp never sheds its dust before the 
pistils of the female plant appear. 

4. Cells. If we cut asunder the anthers before they shed 
their dust, we find their structure altogether as wonderful and 
curious as the seed vessels themselves. For, within they consist 
either of one cell, as the mercury ; or, two, as the hellebore ; or 
three, as the orchis, &cc. 

5. Castration. If we cut off the anthers of any plant which 
bear but one flower, taking care at the same time that no other 
plant of the same species is near it, the fruit proves abortive, or 
at least produces seeds which will not vegetate. This is a cer- 
tain truth, which any one will find upon trial. 

6. Figure. The figure of the fertilizing dust, will clearly 
convince any one, that this fine powder is not accumulated by 
chance, or from the dryness of the anthers. Malpighi, Grew 
and others, who had viewed the figure of these particles with 
good microscopes, found all the particles exactly equal to one 
another, but in different genera, as great a difference in shape 
and figure, as the seeds themselves. As for example, in the 
sunflower, the particles are globular and prickly ; in the mallows 
they appear like wheels with teeth ; in the ricinus, or palma 
Christi, they are shaped like a grain of wheat, flat and smooth ; 
in the borage like a thin leaf rolled up ; in the narcissus, kidney- 
shaped ; in the comfrey, like double globules. The powder of 
the anthers, in regard to fecundation, answers to Leuwenhoek's 
animalcules in the male sperm ; and the stigma, which receives 
this dust, is always moist, that the dust may instantly adhere to it. 
The observation of the famous Jussieu, concerning the maple, 
deserves our notice. " Those gentlemen," says he, " who have 
examined the fertilizing dust of the maple by microscopes, have 
drawn the particles in the form of a cross." From which obser- 
vation we may infer, that those particles are hollow globules, con- 
taining some subtle matter within, that as soon as the hollow 
globules touch the moisture, they burst, and discharge their ex- 
ceedingly fine contents. This last observation throws some light 
on the generation of animals, from its analogy to the seminal an- 
imalcules. Upon the whole, it abundantly appears, that the 



VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 53 

anthers are the male organs of generation, and their dust the 
genuine male sperm. Since in every flower the anthers and 
stigmas are the genital organs serving for fecundation, and the 
anthers the male organs, it is obvious to every one, that the 
stigmas, the other essential part of the flower, is the female organ 
of generation, which we shall more fully prove by the following 
arguments. 

1. Situation. For we are to consider that the stigma is 
always so situated, that the anthers, or their impregnating dust, 
can reach it, as we have shown above. Besides, it is remarkable, 
that in most plants, the number of the stigmas exactly corresponds 
with the cells of the pericarp. 

2. Time. The stigmas are always in full vigor at the same 
time with the anthers. 

3. Falling off. The stigmas, in most plants, when they 
have discharged their office, drop off in the same manner as the 
anthers do ; which is a most evident sign that the stigmas 
contribute nothing to the ripening of the fruit, but serves only for 
the purpose of generation. 

4. Being cut off. If the stigmas be cut off" before they have 
received the impregnating dust of the anthers, the plant is castrated 
as to the female organs, and the fruit perishes ; a sufficient 
demonstration that the stigma is that part of the female organ of 
generation destined for conception. The stigma of a flower, 
has, besides, two other singular properties j namely, that it is 
always divested of the cuticle or film, nor has it any bark as the 
other parts, and then it is always bedewed with moisture. 

The generation of plants, then, is brought about by the anthers 
shedding their dust on the stigmas. It is not sufficiently clear in 
what way the generation of animals is accomplished ; but thus 
far we are certain, that the male sperm must come in contact 
with the female organ, if there be any impregnation. In the 
vegetable kingdom the fertilizing dust is carried by the air to the 
moist stigmas, where the particles burst and discharge their 
exceedingly fine or subtle contents, which impregnate the ovary. 
That this is the case, will be shown by the following arguments. 
I. Sight. When a plant is in flower, and the dust of the 



54 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

anthers is flying about, part of this dust lights upon, and is seen 
to cling to the stigma. 

2. Proportion. For the most part the stamens and pistils 
are of the same height, that the male dust may more easily come 
at the stigma ; but in some plants it is not so, and then a singular 
process of fecundation may be observed. As for example, some 
of the pinks have pistils longer than the stamens : the flowers do 
not nod, but the pistils are reflected or bent back like rams' 
horns towards the anthers. 

3. Place. The stamens for the most part surround the 
pistil, so that some of the dust is always blown by the wind on 
the stigma. 

4. Time. Here we are to observe, that the stamens and 
pistils come at the same time, and that not only in one and the 
same flower, but also where some are male and others female, on 
the same plant, with a very few exceptions. One thing which 
merits our observation in regard to time is, that when the male 
and female flowers are in distinct cups on the same plant, or on 
different plants of the same species, and where the male flowers 
are not erected perpendicularly over the females, there it is 
necessary that the flowering be over before the leaves come out, 
lest the fecundation should be hindered by the intervention of 
the leaves, as for example, in the mulberry, alder,'birch, hornbeam, 
beech, oak hazel, and also in the willow, poplar and ash. 

5. Rains. In almost all sorts of flowers we see how they 
expand or open by the heat of the sun ; but in the evening, and 
in a moist state of the air, they close or contract, lest the moisture 
getting to the dust of the anthers should coagulate the same, and 
render it incapable of being blown on the stigmas ; but when 
once the fecundation is over, the flowers neither contract in the 
evening, nor yet against rain. Flowers with covered anthers 
never close in the night. The anthers of the rye hang out beyond 
the flower, and if rain falls while it is in flower, the dust is 
clotted ; hence the husbandman truly predicts a bad crop ; for 
the grains are not so numerous, because many of the florets prove 
abortive. But the anthers of the barley lie so close within the 
husk, that the rain cannot get in. If rain falls upon the blossom 



VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 55 

of the apple, pear, or cherry, the gardener immediately dreads 
the blossom falling off or proving abortive ; and experience 
confirms the truth of this, for the powder of the anthers is spoiled ; 
yet this accident oftener happens in the cherry than the apple or 
pear ; for all the anthers of the cherry flowers discharge their 
dust at once : but the case is not so in the others. Smoke is 
also injurious, by drying up the moisture of the stigmas. 

6. Culture of Palm trees. That the cultivation of palm trees 
were in use to pull off the spadices from the males, and suspend 
them over the spathaj of the females, is attested by Theophratus, 
Pliny, Prosper, Alpinus, Kemper and many others. If this 
operation happened to be neglected, the dates were sour and 
destitute of nuts. Kemper adds this singular circumstance, that 
the male spadix, after being thoroughly dried and kept till next 
season, still retained its impregnating virtue. 

7. JVodding Jloivers. Since the male dust is generally of a 
greater specific gravity than the air, in most plants that have the 
pistil longer than the stamens, the all-wise Creator has made the 
flowers nodding, that the powder may more easily reach the 
stigma ; as may be seen in the common snow drop and violet. 
Now it cannot be said that this happens merely from the weight 
of the flower, for sometimes the fruit in the same plants, which is 
ten times heavier than the flower, grows erect, as in the crown 
imperial, fritillary and others. 

8. Sunk flowers. The stems of many plants grow under 
water ; but a little before they blow, the flowers emerge or rise 
above the surface of the water, when they blow, and swim till 
they receive their impregnation and then sink again. 

9. Consideration of all so7-ts of flowers. Here a number of 
particulars may be produced, but we shall confine ourselves to 
those that are the most striking and applicable to the subject. 
When the flowers of the male hemp are pulled off before those 
of the female are fully expanded, the females do not produce 
fertile seeds. But as a male flower is sometimes found upon a 
female plant, this may be the reason why fertile seeds are some- 
times produced even after this precaution has been observed. 
The tulip affords another experiment of the same purpose. Cut 



56 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

off all the anthers of a red tulip before the pollen is emitted ; 
then take the ripe anthers of a white tulip, and throw the pollen 
of the white one upon the stigma of the red; the seeds of the 
red tulip being thus impregnated by one of a different complexion, 
will next season produce some red, some white, but mostly varie- 
gated flowers. The hops are of two sorts ; the one male, and 
the other female ; and that which is commonly called the fruit, 
is only the calyx expanded and lengthened ; hence the female 
plants, though not impregnated, can bear cones. This it was 
that deceived Tournefort, so that he would not acknowledge the 
sexes of plants, because a female plant of the hop, in the garden 
at Paris, throve well, and bore fruit in plenty every year, when 
no male plants were within several miles of it. The same thing 
happens in the mulberry andTjlite, the berries of which are only 
succulent calyxes, but not seed vessels or ovaria. — One Richard 
Baal, a gardener, at Brentford, sold a quantity of cauliflower 
seed, (Brassica Jlorida) which he raised in his own garden, to 
several gardeners in the suburbs of London, who carefully sowed 
the seeds in good ground, but they produced nothing but the 
common long-leaved cabbage, (Brassica longifolia) for which 
reason they complained that they were imposed upon, and 
commenced a suit against Baal in Westminster Hall. The 
judge's opinion was, that Baal should return the gardeners their 
money, and also make good their loss of time and crops. This, 
however, ought not to be considered as a fraud, on the part of 
the poor gardener, but ought to be ascribed to the impregnation 
of his good plants by the common cabbage. Wherefore, if we 
have an excellent sort of cabbage, we ought not to let it flower 
in the neighborhood of an inferior kind, lest the good sort be 
impregnated by the dust of the other, whereby the seeds will 
produce a degenerate race. It is needless to mention more 
examples, though we could easily deduce some singular experi- 
ments from many more plants, to corroborate this doctrine of the 
generation of plants. We shall next mention the utility of insects 
in the fecundation of plants. In a great many flowers there is a 
honey juice separated by the flower, which Pontedera thinks is 
that balsam which the seeds imbibe, to make them keep and 



VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 57 

preserve their vegetative quality longer ; and as long as the 
balsam is not dried up or spoiled, so long the seeds are fit to 
germinate. Several insects, as bees, flies, and butterflies, live 
on the honey juice only. Quintilian, the Roman orator, has a 
very singular case in one of his orations. " A poor man and a 
rich man," says he, " had two small adjoining giirdens. The 
rich man had many fine flowers in his garden, and the poor man 
had bees in his. The rich man complained that his flowers 
were spoiled by the poor man's bees, which he warned him to 
remove. The poor man not complying, the other scattered 
poison on his flowers j on which the poor man's bees till died ; 
and Dives is guilty of this great injury. The poor man pleads 
that the bees did no hurt at all to the rich man's flowers ; that 
neither the Creator, nor any human laws, had ever restrained 
bees within any certain limits ; and therefore the rich man might 
hinder the bees from settling on his flowers if he could." But 
the other might hav^e objected, that the bees were so far hurtful 
to his flowers, that they sucked the honey juice, and carried off 
the fertilizing dust. After all, it is probable that the bees are 
more useful than hurtful to flowers, since, by their unwearied 
labors, they spread the fertilizing dust, so that it may reach the 
pistil'; for it is not clear what use the honey juice is of in the 
economy of flowers. From what has been said it appears, that 
the generation of plants is performed by the fertilizing dust of 
the anthers falling on the moist stigma, or female organ ; which 
dust, by the help of the moisture, adheres and bursts, discharging 
its contents, the subtle particles of which are absorbed by the style, 
into the ovarium, germ, or seed bud. Upon the whole, we think 
that the flowering of plants may be truly called their generation. 
From what has been said it follows, that a flower which is 
furnished with anthers, but wants the stigmas, is a male flower ; 
that a flower which has stigmas, but no anthers, is a female ; 
and one that has both is a hermaphrodite flower. Nor need we 
wonder, that in the vegetable kingdom many plants are hermaph- 
rodites, though in the animal kingdom there are a very few of 
this kind ; for there one sex can easily move to the other ; 
whereas plants are fixed to one spot, and cannot remove from it. 
8 



58 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

We call a plant which has only male flowers, a male plant ; 
that which has only female flowers, a female plant ; and that 
which has only hermaphrodite flowers, a hermaphrodite plant. 
A fourth sort, having on one and the same stem both male and 
female flowers distinct, is called an androgynous plant. There 
is also a fifth sort, namely, when on one and the same plant there 
are not only lierm aphrodite flowers, but also male or female 
flowers ; and this is called a polygamous plant. When male 
flowers are added to the hermaphrodite, they serve to impreg- 
nate those which have not been impregnated by their own males ; 
or, if female flowers are added, they are impregnated by the 
farina of the hermaphrodite flowers. 

From the foregoing remarks the reader may perceive how 
similar nature is to herself, and how exact in following her own 
laws in all her works. Who would ever believe so many truths 
were discoverable concerning plants ? Though, without doubt, 
there are many more that remain still undiscovered. To conclude, 
our Creator has thought proper to discover to our senses much 
of his providence ; and to encourage our researches, he has 
endowed us with a most ardent desire to trace im along the 
path that he has made. 

Germination and Growth of Plants. 

Before we describe the process of the germination of plants, as 
connected with the subject, it will be useful to know the means 
adopted by nature for the distribution of the various seeds, so as 
to afford that diversity of vegetable productions which we see 
adorn and cover the face of the earth. 

If seeds were to fall into the ground merely by dropping down 
from the plant, from thus being collected in a mass, either the 
fermentative process would take place and decomposition and 
decay be the consequence, or such a partial vegetation would be 
produced, as would render a large surface of the globe destitute 
of verdure and of the supplies so essential to animal life ; while 
the atmosphere, from numerous decompositions on the one hand, 
and from a deficiency of the renovating principle on the other, 



VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 59 

would lose its purity, and be no longer fit for the purposes for 
which it was created. But Providence has wisely ordered it 
otherwise. For in the first place of this partial distribution, it is 
so arranged that this, like every other part of the creation, shall 
be subordinate to the rest j and that each shall take its respective 
share in contributing to the benefit of the whole. Thus the 
vegetable world where each portion of it, from its construction, 
IS rendered helpless and incapable of extending itself beyond the 
spot which first gave it existence ; the sources of propagation, by 
a very curious mechanism in some instances, and through a 
variety of mediums in others, are made ..to distribute themselves 
in all those directions which can render their perpetuation useful 
or necessary. Thus in some, the seed vessel is made to burst 
its integuments with an elastic jerk, by which its seed is thrown 
with violence to a considerable distance. Others again are 
covered with a spiral awn or spring, blended with a number of 
minute hairs which serve as so many fulcra, by which they cling 
to whatever objects come in their way ; and the seed, thus 
attached, is kept in continual motion until it falls and germinates, 
or dies in the ground. Thus cattle, to which it frequently fixes 
itself, by moving from place to place, and depositing the seeds 
over a large space of ground, are often the instruments of this 
kind of distribution. In other instances, a dispersion takes place 
from birds and other animals feeding upon the fruits of plants, and 
dropping the seeds after they have devoured the pulp. Some 
carry them away to a particular spot to make a hoard of them ; 
and such as are not consumed, germinate and become plants. 
Others swallow the seeds, and afterwards deposit them in the 
soil without being injured. Our own species, we know, not only 
distribute the seed peculiar to our native climate, but also brinf 
from the most distant regions the productions of foreign countries, 
and naturalize them in our own. The winds, also, are another 
very powerful agent in the distribution of those seeds which are 
purposely constructed to be acted upon by their influence ; as the 
lichens and other seeds which float invisibly in the air, and 
vegetate wherever they happen to meet with a suitable soil. 
Some are furnished with a light down, others by a membraneous 



60 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

wing, and a third again are in themselves so light, that each of 
them float in the air and are carried in its current which way 
soever the wind may blow. A lost means adopted by nature for 
the dispersion of seeds, is the anion of si reams, rivers and the 
currents of the ocean. The mountain stream or torrent washes 
down the valley the seeds which mny accidentally fall in it, or 
which may happen to be forced from its banks when it suddenly 
overflows them. The broad and majestic rivers, winding along 
the extensive plains and traversing the continents of the world, 
convey to the distance of many hundred miles, the seeds that may 
have vegetated at their sources ; while by the currents of the 
ocean, fruits and seed's, indigenous to America, have been 
deposited upon the western shores of Europe. 

Thus nature, by means the most comprehensive, yet upon 
principles the most simple and intelligible, provides for the 
completion of all her works ; and the more we examine her 
attributes, the greater proofs we obtain of the usefulness and ends 
for which her powers have been called into action. 

Germination is that act or operation of the vegetative principle 
by which the embryo is extricated from the envelopes, and 
converted into a plant. This is universally the first part of the 
process of vegetation. For we have already proved, that all 
plants spring originally from seed ; the doctrine of equivocal 
generation being now most completely exploded, and an additional 
proof adduced of the uniformity of the operations of nature. 
But seeds will not germinate at random, and in all circumstances 
whatever. They will germinate only under certain conditions, 
and till such conditions take place the vital principle lies dormant 
in the substance of the seed. But when a seed is placed in the 
soil, or in circumstances otherwise favorable to vegetation, the 
vital principle is immediately stimulated into action, producing a 
variety of combinations, and effecting a gradual change in the 
parts of the seed. The radicle is converted into a root ; the 
plumelet into a trunk or stem with its leaves and branches ; and 
a new plant is formed capable of extracting from the soil or 
atmosph'ere the food necessary to its growth and developement. 

The conditions necessary to germination relate either to the 



VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 61 

internal state of the seed itself, or to the ch-cumstances m which 
it is placed, with regard to surrounding circumstances. 

1. Maturity of the seed. The first condition necessary to 
germination is, that the seed must have reached maturity. Unripe 
seeds seldom germinate, because their parts are not yet prepared 
to form the chemical combinations on which germination depends. 
There are some seeds, however, whose germination is said to 
commence in the very seed vessel, even before the fruit is ripe, 
and while it is yet attached to its parent plant, as for example, 
the garden radish, the lemon and the pea. But these are 
examples of rare occurrence ; though it is sometimes necessary 
to sow or plant the seed almost as soon as it is fully ripe, as in 
the case of the coffee bean j which will not germinate unless it 
be sown within five or six weeks after it has been gathered. 
But most seeds if guarded from external injury will retain their 
germinating faculty for a period of many years. 

2. Exclusion of light. The second condition is that the seed 
sown must be secluded from the action of the rays of light. 
This has no doubt been long known to be a necessary condition 
of germination, if we regard the practice of harrowing or raking 
in of the grains or seeds sown by the farmer or gardener as being 
founded upon it. But it does not seem to have engaged the 
notice of the scientific, or to have been proved by direct and 
intentional experiment tih lately. Ingenhoutz and Senebier 
ascertained by experiment that seeds germinate faster in the 
shade than in the sun, and hence concluded that light is prejudi- 
cial to germination. But it remained to be determined whether 
the prejudicial effect was to be attributed merely to the light, or 
partly to the heat accompanying it. From the experiments of 
Ingenhoutz and Senebier, the injury appeared to be occasioned 
by the hght only, because the comparative experiments in the 
shade and in the sun, were made at equal temperature, as 
indicated by the thermometer. With this conclusion, however, 
though apparently legitimate, M. Saussure professes to be 
dissatisfied, because the thermometer placed even under the 
recipient is, in his opinion, incapable of indicating the actual 
degree of the heat of the solar rays impinging on the surface of 



62 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

the seeds, which he believes to be carried to a very great height, 
though still escaping our instruments of observation. But this 
mode of reasoning is, to say the least of it, still more inconse- 
quential than the former ; because it is setting by a mere 
probability from which nothing can be inferred, in opposition to a 
direct fact, from which something surely should be inferred. It 
may, indeed, be true, that the degree of heat impinging on the 
surface of the seed is so great as to impede its germination ; but 
as no direct proof can be adduced in support gf the opinion, we 
must just rest satisfied with the indications of our instruments, 
till such time as other instruments shall be invented capable of 
detecting their errors ; and with the previous conclusion, till such 
time as some positive fact shall be opposed to the experiments 
from which it is deduced. 

3. Action of Heat. A third condition necessary to germina- 
tion is the access of heat. No seed has ever been known to 
germinate at or below the freezing point. Hence seeds do not 
germinate in winter, even though lodged in their proper soil. 
But the vital principle is not necessarily destroyed in consequence 
of this exposure ; for the seed will germinate still, on the return 
of spring, when the ground has been again thawed, and the 
temperature raised to a proper degree. But this degree varies 
considerably in different species of seeds, as is obvious from 
observing the times of their germination, whether in the same or 
in different chmates. For if seeds which naturally sow them- 
selves, germinate, in different climates, at the same period ; or in 
the same climate at different periods ; the temperature necessary 
to their germination must of consequence be different. Now 
these cases are constantly occurring and presenting themselves 
to our notice ; and have also been made the subject of particular 
observation. Adanson found that seeds which will germinate in 
the space of twelve hours in an ordinary degree of heat, may be 
made to germinate in the space of three hours, by exposing them 
to a greater degree of heat ; and that seeds transported from the 
chmate of Paris to that of Senegal, have their periods of germi- 
nation accelerated from one to three days. Upon the same 
principle, seeds transported from a warmer to a colder climate, 



VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 63 

have their period of germination protracted till the temperature of 
the latter is raised to that of the former. This is vveh exemplified 
in the case of our green house and hot house plants, from which 
it is also obvious that the temperature must not be raised beyond 
a certain degree, otherwise the vital principle is totally destroyed. 

4. Access of Moisture. A fourth condition necessary to 
germination is the access of moisture. Seeds will not germinate 
if they are kept perfectly dry. Water, therefore, or some liquid 
equivalent to it, is essential to germination. Hence rain is always 
acceptable to the farmer or gardener, immediately after he has 
sown his seeds ; and if no rain falls, recourse must be had, if 
possible, to irrigation. But the quantity of water applied is not 
a matter of indifference. There may be too little, or there may 
be too much. If there is too little, the seed dies for want of 
moisture ; if there is too much, it then rots. The case is not the 
same, however, in all seeds. Some can bear but little moisture, 
though others will germinate even when partially immersed, and 
indeed there are some that will germinate when wholly submersed. 

5. Access of Atmospheric Air. A fifth condition necessary 
to germination, is the access of atmospheric air. Seeds will 
not germinate if placed in a vacuum. Ray introduced some 
grains of lettuce seed into the receiver of an air pump, which he 
then exhausted. The seeds did not germinate. But they 
germinated upon the readmission of the air, which is thus proved 
by consequence to be necessary to their germination. 

The discovery of the several gasses, and of their various 
chemical properties, has contributed more than all other circum- 
stances put together, to explain and elucidate the phenomena of 
vegetation. The first experiments on this obscure but interesting 
subject are those of Scheele ; who discovered soon after the 
introduction of pneumatic chemistry, that beans did not germinate 
in any kind of gas indifferently ; but that oxygen gas is necessary 
to the process. Achard afterwards proved that no seed will 
germinate in nitrogen gas, or carbonic acid gas, or hydrogen gas, 
except when mixed with a certain proportion of oxygen gas j 
and hence concluded that oxygen gas is necessary to the germi- 
nation of all seeds, and the only constituent part of the atmospheric 
air which is absolutely necessary. The experiments of M. 



C4 ' SYLVA AMERICANA. 

Achard, were afterwards repeated and confirmed by a number 
of other modern chemis(s, who found that seeds will not germinate 
in nitrogen gas, but will die if put into it even after germination, 
at least if the radicle only is developed. Senebier found that 
seeds will not germinate in an artificial atmosphere that does not 
contain at least one eighth part of its bulk of oxygen ; but that 
the most favorable proportion is when it contains one fourth part. 
It has 'been ascertained, however, that seeds will germinate even 
in an atmosphere of pure oxygen, though not so readily as when 
presented in a state of mixture or combination with other gasses. 
It cannot indeed be necessary that the oxygen consumed in 
germination should be presented to the seed in an uncombined 
state ; as is obvious from the natural agency of the atmospheric 
air, as well as from direct experiment. Humboldt found that 
the process of germination is accelerated by means of previously 
steeping the seed in water impregnated with oxymuriatic acid. 
In all cases of germination the presence of oxygen- is necessary. 
For even of those seeds that germinate in water, the germination 
takes place only'in consequence of the oxygen which the water 
contains in an uncombined state. The period necessary to 
complete the process of germination is not the same in all seeds, 
even when all the necessary conditions have been furnished. 
Some species require a shorter, and others a longer period. 
The grasses are among the number of those plants whose seeds 
are of the most rapid germination ; then perhaps cruciform plants ; 
then leguminous plants ; then labiate plants ; then umbelliferous 
plants ; and in the last order rosaceous plants, whose seeds 
germinate the slowest. The following table indicates the periods 
of the germination of a considerable variety of seeds as observed 
by Adanson. 

Wheat, millet seed, . . 1 

Spinage, beans, mustard, . 3 

liCttuce, anise seed, . . 4 

Melon, cucumber, cress seed, 5 

Radish, beet root, . . . G 

Barley, 7 

Orach, 8 



Days. Days. 

Purslain, 9 

Cabbage, 10 

Hyssop, 30 

Parsley, . . . . 40 or 50 
Almond, chesnut, peach, 1 year. 
Rose, hawthorn, filbert, 2 years. 



VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY, 65 

When a seed is committed to the soil under the conditions 
that have been just specified, it begins, for the most part, soon 
after to inhale or imbibe air and moisture, and to expand and 
augment in volume. This is uniformly the first symptom of 
incipient germination, though not always an infallible symptom j 
because the seed may swell with moisture merely by being 
soaked in water, though the vital principle should be totally 
extinct. But the first infallible symptom of germination is to be 
deduced from the prolongation of the radicle beyond the extent 
to which it would attain merely in consequence of soaking. In 
the latter case the augmentation of the radicle is limited by the 
extent and capacity of its envelopes, or by the quantity of moisture 
necessary to its saturation ; or by causes inducing incipient 
putrefaction. But in the former case its augmentation is circum- 
scribed by no such limits : for it not only assumes a swollen and 
distended appearance in consequence of the absorption of 
moisture ; but acquires an additional and progressive increase 
in the actual assimilation of nutriment, bursting through its proper 
integuments, and directing its extremity downwards into the soil. 

The next step in the process of germination is the evolution of 
the cotyledon or cotyledons, unless the seed is altogether ■ a 
cotyledonous. 

The next step, in the case of seeds furnished with cotyledons, 
is that of the extrication of the plumelet, or first real leaf, from 
within or from betw^een the cotyledon or cotyledons, and its 
expansion in the open air. 

The last and concluding step is the developement of the 
rudiments of a stem, if the species is furnished with a stem, and 
the plant is complete. 

Such are the phenomena observable in the germination of 
seed ; air and moisture are absorbed from the soil or atmosphere 
by the hilum or envelopes. Their agency is immediately 
exerted on the farina of the albumen or cotyledons ; and a food 
is thus prepared for the nourishment of the tender embryo, to 
which it passes through the medium of the vessels of the 
cotyledons, or, as they have been also denominated, the seminal 
root. The radicle gives the first indications of life, expanding 
9 



66 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

and bursting its integuments, and at length fixing itself in the soil : 
the plumelet next unfolds its parts, developing the rudiments of 
the leaf, branch and trunk ; and finally the seminal leaves decay 
and drop off; and the embryo has been converted into a plant 
capable of abstracting immediately from the soil or atmosphere 
the nourishment necessary to its future growth. 

Food of Plants. 

It is of the utmost consequence to determine what is the food 
of plants. Upon that question philosophers have widely differed. 
From a variety of experiments, accurately conducted, we are led 
to believe that all vegetables, from the hyssop upon the wall, to 
the cedar of Lebanon, receive their principal nourishment from 
oily particles incorporated with water, by means of gasses, 
vegetable extracts, salts, earths and manures. Until oil is made 
miscible, it is unable to enter the radical vessels of vegetables ; 
and on that account Providence has bountifully supplied all 
natural soils with chalky or other absorbent particles. We say 
natural soils, for those which have been assisted by art are full of 
materials for that purpose ; such as lime, marl, soap, ashes and 
the volatile alkaline salt of putrid matter. It may be asked, 
whence do natural soils receive their oily particles ? We answer 
the air supplies them. During the summer months, the atmos- 
phere is full of exhalations arising from the steam of putrid 
substances, the perspiration of animals and smoke. Every 
shower brings down these putrescent and oleaginous particles for 
the nourishment of plants. Of these particles some fall into the 
sea, where they probably serve for the nourishment of the fuci, 
and other submarine plants. They are, however, but seemingly 
lost, as the fishes taken from the sea, and the weeds thrown upon 
the beach, restore them again under a different form. 

The ingenious Mr. Tull, and others, contend that earth is the 
food of plants. If so, all soils equally tilled would prove equally 
prolific. The increased fertility of a well pulverized soil, induced 
him to imagine that the plough could so minutely divide the 
particles of earth, as to fit them for entering into the roots of 



VEGETABLK I^HYSIOLOGY. 67 

plants. An open soil, if not too light in its own nature, will 
always produce plentiful crops. It readily receives the air, rains 
and dews into its bosom, and at the same time gives the roots of 
plants a free passage in quest of food. This is the true reason 
why land well tilled is so remarkably fruitful. Water is thought, 
by some, to be the food of vegetables, when in reality it is only 
the vehicle of nourishment. Water is a heterogeneous fluid, and 
is nowhere to be found in a pure state. It always contains a 
solution of animal, vegetable or mineral substances. These 
contribute to the nourishment of plants, and the element in which 
they are minutely suspended, acts only as a vehicle, in guiding 
them through the fine vessels of the vegetable body. As water 
is necessary to the commencement of vegetation, so is it also 
necessary to its progress. Plants will not continue to vegetate 
unless their roots are supplied with water ; and if they are kept 
long without it, the leaves will droop and become flaccid, and 
assume a withered appearance. Now this is evidently owing to 
the loss of water. For if the roots are again well supplied with 
water the weight of the plant is increased, and its freshness 
restored. But many plants will grow, thrive and effect the 
developement of all their parts, if the root is merely immersed in 
water, though not fixed in the soil. Lilies, hyacinths and a 
variety of plants and bulbous roots, may be so reared, and are 
often to be met with so vegetating ; and many plants will also 
vegetate though wholly immersed. Most of the marine plants 
are of this description. It cannot be doubted, therefore, that 
water serves as an important vehicle of vegetable aliment. 

The ingenious Dr. Priestley proves to a demonstration that the 
putrid air arising from decaying substances, and the perspiration 
of animals, is not only absorbed by vegetables, but also adds to 
their increase. He contends that all plants, by their leaves, as 
well as by their roots, imbibe these putrid vapors, which consti- 
tute a part of their food. " During the summer months," says he, 
" the atmosphere is full of putrid exhalations arising from the 
steam of dunghills, the perspiration of animals and smoke. Every 
shower brings down these oleaginous particles for the nourishment 
of plants. It is pleasing to observe how the dissolution of one 



68 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

body is necessary for the life and increase of another. All 
nature is in motion. In consequence of the putrid fermentation 
that is every where carried on, a quantity of vegetable nutriment 
ascends into the atmosphere. Summer showers return much of 
it again ; but part falls into the sea and is lost. To this we may 
add the animal and vegetable substances consumed on board of 
ships, all of which are buried in the ocean. The industry of 
man restores them to the earth j and we may presume that the 
fish taken from the sea leave a balance in favor of mankind. 
Thus Providence, with the most consummate wisdom, keeps up 
the necessary rotation of things. Hitherto I have considered 
plants as nourished by their roots ; I shall now take a view of 
them as nourished by their leaves. An attention to this part of 
the vegetable system is essentially necessary to the rational 
farmer. Vegetables that have a succulent leaf, such as vetches, 
peas, beans and buck wheat, draw a great part of their nourish- 
ment from the air, and on that account impoverish the soil less 
than wheat, oats, barley or rye, the leaves of which are of a firmer 
texture. Rape and hemp are oil-bearing plants, and consequently 
impoverishers of the soil ; but the former less so than the latter, 
owing to the greater succulency of the leaf. The leaves of all 
kinds of grain are succulent for a time, during which period the 
plant takes little from the earth ; but as soon as the ear begins to 
be formed, they lose their softness and diminish in their attractive 
power. The radical fibres are then more vigorously employed 
in extracting the oily particles of the earth for the nourishment 
of the seed. Such, I apprehend is the course of nature. 

" The air contains, especially during the summer months, all 
the principles of vegetation ; oil, composed of gasses, vegetable 
extracts, earths, manures, Sic. for the perfect food, water to 
dilute it and salts to assimilate it. These are greedily absorbed 
by the vessels of the leaves and bark, and conveyed to the 
innermost parts of the plant for its growth and fructification. 

" In order that we may have a distinct view of the motion of 
the sap, it will be necessary to reflect, that the- root, stem, 
branches and leaves are constructed in the same manner. 
Sallows, willows, vines and most shrubs will grow in an inverted 



VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 69 

State, with their tops downwards in ihe earth. Dr. Bradley- 
describes the manner of inverting a young cherry tree, the roots 
of which will put forth leaves, and the branches become roots. 
Hence it is obvious that the nutritive matter may be conveyed as 
well by the leaves as the roots, their vascular structure being 
the same. 

"During the heat of a summer's day, all plants perspire freely 
from the pores of their leaves and bark. At that time the juices 
are highly rarified. The diameters of the trachece, or air vessels, 
are enlarged, so as to press upon and straighten the vessels that 
carry the sap. In consequence of which their juices, not being 
able to escape by the roots, are pressed upward, where there is 
the least resistance, and perspire off the excrementitious part by 
the leaves and top branches, in the form of vapor. When the 
solar heat declines, the tracheas are contracted. The sap vessels 
are enlarged, and the sap sinks down in the manner of the spirits 
of the thermometer. In consequence of this change, the capil- 
lary vessels of the leaves and top branches become empty. 
Being surrounded with the humid vapors of the evening, they 
fill themselves from the known laws of attraction, and send down 
the new acquired juices to be mixed with those that are more 
elaborated. As soon as the sun has altered the temperature of 
the air the tracheae become again distended, and the sap vessels 
are straightened. The same cause always produces the same 
effect; and this alternate ascent and descent, through the same 
system of vessels, continues as long as the plant survives. 

"Air is to be found in every portion of earth; as it always 
contains a solution of the volatile parts of animal and vegetable 
substances, we should be careful to keep our stiff soils as open as 
possible to its influence. It passes, both in hs active and fixed 
state, into the absorbent vessels of the root, and mixing with the 
juices of the plant, circulates through every part." 

Vegetables being fixed to a particular place, have few offices 
to perform. An increase of body and maturation of their seed, 
seems all that is required of them. For these purposes. Provi- 
dence has wisely bestowed upon them, organs of a wonderful 
mechanism. The anatomical investigation of these organs, is 



70 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

the only rational method of arriving at any certainty concerning 
the laws of vegetable economy. Upon this subject Dr. Hales 
judiciously observes, " that as the growth and preservation of 
vegetable life is promoted and maintained, as in animals, by the 
very plentiful and regular motion of their fluids, which are the 
vehicles ordained by nature to carry nutriment to every part, it 
is, therefore, reasonable to hope, that in them also, by the same 
method of inquiry, considerable discoveries may in time be 
made ; there being, in many respects, a great analogy between 
plants and animals." 



CHAP. IV. 

Casualties Affecting the Life of Vegetables. 

As plants are, like animals, organized and living beings, they 
are, like animals also, liable to such accidental injuries and 
disorders as may affect the health and vigor, or occasion the 
death of the individual ; which is at any rate eventually effected 
by means of the natural decay and final extinction of the vital 
principle. Hence the subject of vegetable casualties divides 
itself into the three following heads : wounds, diseases and natural 
decay. 

Wound s. 

A wound is a forcible separation of the solid parts of the 
plant effected by means of some external cause. It may be 
intentional, as in the case of incision, boring, girdling, grafting, 
pruning, felling and such like operations ; or it may be acciden- 
tal, as in the case of injuries sustained by the rubbing or browsing 
of cattle ; by the bite and depredation of insects, hares and rab- 
bits ; by lightning ; by weight of fruit ; or by violent storms of 
wind, hail and snow. 

1. Incision. Incisions are sometimes necessary to the health 



VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 71 

of the tree, in the same manner perhaps as bleeding is necessary 
to the heahh of the animal. The trunk of the plum and cherry 
tree seldom expand freely till a longitudinal incision has been 
made in the bark ; and hence this operation is often practised 
by gardeners. If the incision affects the epidermis only, it heals 
up without leaving any scar ; if it penetrates into the interior ol 
the bark it heals up only by means of leaving a scar ; but if it 
penetrates into the wood, the wound in the wood itself never 
heals up completely ; but new wood and bark are formed above 
it as before. 

2. Boring. Boring is an operation by which trees are often 
wounded for the purpose of making them part with their sap in 
the season of their bleeding, particularly the birch and sugar 
maple. A horizontal or rather slanting hole is bored in them 
with a wimble, so as to penetrate an inch or two into the wood, 
from this the sap flows copiously ; and though a number of holes 
is often bored in the same trunk, the health of the tree is not 
materially if at all affected. For trees will continue to thrive 
though subjected to this operation for many successive years ; 
and the hole, if not very large, will close up again like the deep 
incision, not by the union of the broken fibres of the wood, but 
by the formation of new bark and wood projecting beyond the 
edge of the orifice, and finally shutting it up altogether. 

3. Girdling. Girdling is an operation to which trees in 
newly-settled countries are often subjected when the farmer 
wishes to clear his land of timber. It consists in making parallel 
and horizontal incisions with an axe into the trunk of a tree, and 
carrying them quite round the stem so as to penetrate through 
the liber into the alburnum, and then to scoop out the intervening 
portion. If this operation is performed early in the spring and 
before the commencement of the bleeding season, the tree rarely 
survives it ; though some trees that are peculiarly tenacious of 
life, such as the sugar maple and mountain tupelo, have been 
known to survive it a considerable length of time. 

4. Fractures. If a tree is bent so as to break only a part of 
the cortical and woody fibres, and the stem or branch but small, 
the parts will again unite by being put back into their natural 



72 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

position, and well propt up. Especially the cure may be 
expected to succeed if the fracture happens in the spring ; but it 
will not succeed if the fracture is accompanied with contusion, or 
if the stem or branch is large ; and even where it succeeds, the 
woody fibres do not contribute to the union, but the granular and 
herbaceous substance only which exudes from between the wood 
and liber, insinuating itself into all interstices, and finally becoming 
indurated into wood. 

5. Pruning. Wounds are necessarily inflicted by the gar- 
dener or forester in the pruning or lopping off of superfluous 
branches, but this is seldom attended with any bad effects to the 
health of the tree, if done by a skilful practitioner ; indeed no 
further art is required merely for the protection of the tree, 
beyond that of cutting the branch through in a sloping direction 
so as to prevent the rain from lodging. In this case the wound 
soon closes up by the induration of the exposed surface of the 
section, and by the protrusion of a granular substance, forming a 
sort of circular lip between the wood and bark ; and hence the 
branch is never elongated by the growth of the same vessels that 
have been cut, but by the protrusion of new buds near the point 
of section. 

6. Grafting. In this operation there is a wound both of the 
stock and graft ; which are united not by the immediate adhesion 
of the surfaces of the two sections, but by means of a granular 
and herbaceous substance exuding from between the wood and 
bark, and insinuating itself as a sort of cement into all open 
spaces : new wood is finally formed within it, and the union is 
complete. 

7. Felling. Felling is the operation of cutting down trees 
close to the ground which many of them will yet survive, if the 
stump is protected from the injuries of animals, and the root fresh 
and vigorous. In this case the fibres of the wood are never 
again regenerated, but a lip is formed as in the case of pruning ; 
and buds, that spring up into new shoots, are protruded near the 
section : so that from the old shoot, ten, twelve or even twenty 
new stems may issue according to its size and vigor. The shoots 
of the oak and ash will furnish good examples j but there are 



VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 73 

some trees, such as the fir, that never send out any shoots after 
the operation of felling. 

8. Destruction of Buds. It has been already shown that the 
buds which expand in the spring are generated in the preceding 
summer, and augmented and prepared for developement in the 
intervening winter. But if the buds are destroyed in the course 
of the winter, or in the early part of the spring, many plants will 
again generate new buds that will develop their parts as the 
others would have done, except that they never contain blossom 
or fruit ; probably because the fruit bud requires more time to 
develop its parts, or a peculiar and higher degree of elaboration j 
and that this hasty production is only the effect of a great effort 
of the vital principle for the preservation of the individual, and 
one of those wonderful resources to which nature always knows 
how to resort when the vital principle is in danger. 

9. Destruction of Leaves. Sometimes the leaves of a tree 
are destroyed partially or totally as soon as they are protruded 
from the bud, whether by the depredations of caterpillars or other 
insects, or by the browsing of cattle. But if the injury is done 
early in the spring, new leaves will be again protruded with 

"subsequent shoots. Some trees will bear to be stripped of their 
leaves even more than once in a season, as is the case with the 
mulberry tree, which is cukivated for the purpose of feeding silk 
worms. But if it is stripped more than once in the season it 
requires now and then a year's rest. 

10. Destruction of Bark. The decortication of a tree, or 
the stripping it of its bark, may be intentional or accidental, 
partial or total. . If it is partial and affects the epidermis only, 
then it is again regenerated, as in the case of slight incision, 
without leaving any scar. But if the epidermis of the petal, leaf 
or fruit, is destroyed, it is not again regenerated, nor is the 
wound healed up except by means of a scar. Such is the case 
also with all decortications that penetrate deeper than the 
epidermis, particularly if the wound is not protected from the 
action of the air. And if the decortication reaches to the wood, 
then the wound will not heal in the foregoing manner at all. If 
the decortication is total, the tree dies. Of sixty trees which 

10 



74 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

Du Hamel barked in the spring, no one survived the experiment 
above three or four years, though many of them generated a 
portion both of wood and bark, originating at the summit, and 
descending sometimes to the extent of a foot. 



Diseases. 

Diseases are corrupt affections of the vegetable body, arising 
from a vitiated state of its juices, and tending to injure the 
habitual health either of the whole or a part. The diseases that 
occur the most frequently among vegetables are the following : 
blight, smut, mildew, honey dew, dropsy, flux of juices, gangrene, 
etiolation, suffocation, contortion and consumption. 

1. Slight. Blight is a general name given for various 
distempers incident to corn and fruit trees. The term has been 
used in a very vague and indefinite manner. The origin of the 
disease has been variously accounted for. There appear to be 
at least three distinct species of it. The first originates in cold 
and frosty winds in spring, which nip and destroy the tender 
shoots of the plant, by stopping the circulation of the juices. 
The leaves wither and fall ; the juices burst the vessels, and 
become the food of numerous insects, which are often mistaken 
for the cause of the disease, while they are really an effect of it. 
The second species originates in a sultry and pestilential vapor, 
and happens in summer when the grain has attained its ftdl 
growth. The third originates in fungi, which attack the leaves 
or stem of herbaceous and woody plants ; but more generally 
grasses, and particularly the most useful grains. It generally 
assumes the appearance of a rusty looking powder, which soils 
the finger when touched. There are several sorts of these fungi, 
known to farmers under the names of red rust, red gum, &£C. 
The only means of preventing the effect of blight is proper 
culture. Palliatives are to be found in topical applications. 

2. Smut. Smut is a disease incidental to cultivated corn by 
which the farina of the grain, together with its proper integuments, 
and even part of the husk, is converted into a black soot-like 
powder. If the injured ear is struck with the finger, the powder 



VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 75 

will be dispersed like a cloud of black smoke ; and if a portion 
of the powder is wetted by a drop of water and put under the 
microscope, it will be found to consist of millions of minute and 
transparent globules, which seem to be composed of a clear and 
glairy fluid, encompassed by a thin and skinny membrane. 

This disease does not affect the v.hole body of the crop, but 
the smutted ears are sometimes very numerously dispersed 
throughout it. Some have attributed it to the soil in which the 
grain is sown, and others have attributed it to the seed itself, 
alleging that smutted seed will produce a smutted crop. But in 
all this there seems to be a great deal of doubt. Willdenow 
regards it as originating in a small fungus, which multiplies and 
extends till it occupies the whole ear. But Mr. F. Bauer of 
Kew, seems to have ascertained it to be merely a morbid swelling 
of the ear, and not at all connected with the growth of a fungus. 

It is said to be effectually prevented by steeping the grain 
before sowing in a weak solution of arsenic. 

But besides the disease called smut, there is also a disease 
analogous to it, or a different stage of the same disease, known 
to the farmer by the name of hags, or smut balls, in which the 
nucleus of the seed only is converted into a black powder, while 
the ovary, as well as the husk, remains sound. The ear is not 
much altered in its external appearance, and the diseased grain 
contained in it will even bear the operation of threshing, and 
consequently mingle with the bulk. But it is always readily 
detected by the experienced buyer, and fatal to the character 
of the sample. It is prevented as in the case of smut. 

3. Mildew. Mildew is a thin and whitish coating with which 
the leaves of vegetables are sometimes covered, occasioning their 
decay and death, and injuring the health of the plant. It is 
frequently found on the leaves of the Humulus, Sujpulus 
and the white and yellow dead nettle. It is found also on 
wheat in the shape of a glutinous exudation, particularly when 
the days are hot and the nights without dew. Willdenow says 
it is occasioned by the growth of a fungus of great minuteness, 
the Mucor erisyphe of Linnaeus ; or by a sort of whitish slime 



7(5 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

which some species of aphides deposit upon the leaves. In 
cultivated crops it is said to be prevented by manuring with soot. 

4. Honeydeiv. Honeydew is a sweet and clammy substance 
which coagulates on the surface of the leaves during hot weather, 
particularly on the leaves of the oak, walnut and beach, and is 
regarded by Mr. Curtis, who wrote a paper on the subject, as 
being merely the dung of some species of aphides. This seems 
to be the opinion of Willdenow also, and it is no doubt possible 
that it may be the case in some instances or species of the 
disease. But Sir J. E. Smith contends that it is not always so, 
or that there are more species of honeydew than one, regarding 
it particularly as being an exudation, at least in the case of the 
beech, whose leaves are, in consequence of an unfavorable wind, 
apt to become covered with a sweet sort of glutinous coating, 
similar in flavor to the fluid obtained from the trunk. 

It is certain, however, that saccharine exudations are found on 
the leaves of many plants, though not always distinguished by 
the name of honeydew ; which should not perhaps be applied 
except when the exudation occasions disease. But if it is to be 
applied to all saccharine exudations whatever, then we must 
include under the appellation of honeydew the saccharine 
exudation observed on the orange tree by M. De la Hire, 
together with that of the lime tree which is more glutinous, and 
of the poplar which is more resinous 5 as also that of the Cistus 
creticus, from which the resin Ldhdanum is collected, by means 
of beating the shrub with leathern thongs, and of the manna 
which exudes from the ash tree of Italy and larch of France. It 
is also possible that the exudation of excrement constituting 
honeydew may occasionally occur without producing disease ; 
for if it should happen to be washed off soon after by rains or 
heavy dews, then the leaves will not suffer. 

5. Dropsy. Plants are also liable to a disease which afl'ects 
them in a manner similar to that of the dropsy in animals, arising 
from long continued rain or too abundant watering. Willdenow 
describes it as occasioning a preternatural swelling of particular 
parts, and including putrefaction. It is said to take place chiefly 
in bulbous and tuberous roots, which are often found much 



VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY, 77 

swollen after rain. It affects fruits also which it renders watery 
and insipid. It prevents the ripening of seeds, and occasions an 
immoderate production of roots from the stem. Succulent plants 
in particular are apt to suffer from too profuse waterings, and the 
disease thus occasioned is generally incurable. The leaves 
drop, even though plump and green ; and the fruit rots before 
reaching maturity. In this case the absorption seems to be too 
great in proportion to the transpiration ; but the soil when too 
much manured produces similar effects. Du Hamel planted 
some elms in a soil that was particularly well manured, and 
accordingly they pushed with great vigor for some time ; but at 
the end of five or six years they all died suddenly. The bark 
was found to be detached from the wood, and the cavity filled up 
with a reddish colored water. 

6. Flux of Juices. Some trees, but particularly the oak and 
birch, are liable to a great loss of sap, either bursting out 
spontaneously, owing to a superabundance of sap, or issuing from 
accidental wounds. Sometimes it is injurious to the health of 
plants, and sometimes not. There is a spontaneous extravasation 
of the sap of the vine, known by the name of the tears of the 
vine, which is not injurious. As it often happens that the root 
imbibes sap, which the leaves are not yet prepared to throw off 
because not yet sufficiently expanded, owing to an inclement 
season, the sap which is first carried up, being propelled by that 
which follows, ultimately forces its way through all obstructions, 
and exudes from the bud. But this is observed only in cold 
climates ; for in hot climates, where the developement of the 
leaves is not obstructed by cold, they are ready to elaborate the 
sap as soon as it reaches them. There is also a spontaneous 
extravasation of proper juice in some trees, which does not seem 
in general to be injurious to the individual. Thus the gum which 
exudes from the cherry, plum, peach and almond trees, is seldom 
detrimental to their health, except when it insinuates itself into 
the other vessels of the plant and occasions obstructions. But 
when the sap ascends more copiously than it can be carried off, 
it sometimes occasions a fissure of the solid parts, inducing 
disease or deformity by encouraging the extravasation and 



78 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

corruption of the ascending or descending juices. Sometimes the 
fissure is occasioned by means of frost, forming what is called 
a double alburnum ; that is, first a layer that has been injured by 
the frost, and then a layer that passes into the wood. Sometimes 
a layer is partially affected, and that is generally owing to a 
sudden and partial thaw, on the south side of the trunk, which may 
be followed again by a sudden frost. In' this case the alburnum 
is split into clefts, or chinks, by means of the expansion of the 
frozen sap. But a cleft thus occasioned often degenerates into a 
childblain that discharges a blackish and acrid fluid to the great 
detriment of the plant, particularly if the sore is so situated that 
rain or snow will readily lodge in it, and become putrid. The 
same injury may be occasioned by the bite or puncture of insects 
while the shoot is yet tender ; and as no vegetable ulcer heals 
up of its own accord, the sooner a remedy is applied to it the 
better, as it will, if left to itself, ultimately corrode and destroy 
the whole plant, bark, wood and pith. The only remedy is the 
excision of the part affected, and the application of a coat of 
grafting wax. 

7. Gangrene. Of this disorder there are two varieties, the 
dry and the wet. The former is occasioned by the means of 
excessive heat or cold. If by means of cold, it attacks the leaves 
of young shoots, and causes them to shrink up, converting them 
from green to black ; as also the inner bark, which it blackens in 
the same manner, so that it is impossible to save the plant except 
by cutting it to the ground. If by means of heat, the effects are 
nearly similar, as may often times be seen in gardens, or even in 
forests, where the foresters clear away the moss and withered 
leaves from the roots. Sometimes the disease is occasioned by 
the too rapid growth of a particular branch, depriving the one 
that is next to it of its due nourishment, and hence inducing its 
decay. Sometimes it is occasioned by means of parasitical 
plants, as in the case of the bulbs of the saffron, to which a 
species of Lycoperdon often attaches itself and totally corrupts. 
The harmattan winds of the coast of Africa kill many plants, by 
means of inducing a sort of gangrene that withers and blackens 
the leaves, and finally destroys the whole plant. The nopal of 



VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 79 

Mexico is also subject to a sort of gangrene that begins with a 
black spot, and extends till the whole leaf or branch rots off or 
the plant dies. 

But plants are sometimes affected with a gangrene by which 
a part becomes first soft and moist, and then dissolves into foul 
ichor. This is confined chiefly to the leaves, flowers and fruit. 
Sometimes it attacks the roots also, but rarely the stem. It 
seems to be owing in many cases to too wet or too rich a 
soil ; but it may originate in contusion,- and may be caught by 
infection. 

But the nopal is subject also to a disease called by Thiery 
la dissolution, and considered by Sir J. E. Smith as distinct 
from gangrene. A joint of the nopal, or a whole branch and 
sometimes an entire plant, changes in the space of a single hour 
from a state of apparent health to a state of putrefaction or 
dissolution. Now its surface is verdant and shining, and in an 
instant it changes to a yellow, and its brilliancy is gone. If the 
substance is cut into, the parts are found to have lost all cohesion, 
and are quite rotten ; the only remedy is speedy amputation 
below the diseased part. Sometimes the vital principle collecting 
and exerting all its energies, makes a stand as it were against 
the encroaching disease, and throws off the infected part. 

8. Etiolation. Plants are sometimes affected by a disease 
which entirely destroys their verdure, and renders them pale and 
sickly. This is called etiolation, and may arise merely from 
want of the agency of light, by which the extrication of oxygen 
is effected, and the leaf rendered green. And hence it is that 
plants placed in dark rooms, or between great masses of stone, 
or in the clefts of rocks, or under the shade of other trees, look 
always peculiarly pale. But if they are removed from such 
situations and exposed to the action of light, they will again 
recover their green color. Etiolation may also ensue from the 
depredation of insects, nestling in the radicle, and consuming the 
food of the plant, and thus debilitating the vessels of the leaf so 
as to render them insusceptible to the action of light. This is 
said to be often the case with the radicles o( Secale cereale or com- 
mon rye, and the same result may also arise from poverty of soil. 



80 SYLVA AMEKICANA. 

9. Suffocation. Sometimes it happens that the pores of the 
epidermis are closed up and transpiration consequently obstructed, 
by means of some extraneous substance that attaches itself to and 
covers the bark. This obstruction induces disease, and the 
disease is called suffocation. Sometimes it is occasioned by the 
immoderate growth of lichens upon the bark covering the whole 
of the plant, as may be often seen on fruit trees, which it is 
necessary to keep clean by means of scraping of the hchens, at 
least from the smaller branches. For if the young branches are 
thus coated, so that the bark cannot perform its proper 
functions, the tree will soon begin to languish, and will finally 
become covered with fungi inducing or resulting from decay, 
till it is at last wholly choaked up. But a similar effect is also 
occasionally produced by insects, in feeding upon the sap or 
shoot. This may be exemplified in the case of the aphides, 
which sometimes breed or settle upon the tender shoot in such 

"multitudes as to cover it from the action of the external air 
altogether. Sometimes the disease is occasioned by an extrava- 
sation of juices which coagulate on the surface of the stalk, so as 
to form a sort of crust, investing it as a sheath, and preventing its 
further expansion. Sometimes the disease is occasioned from 
want of an adequate supply of nourishment as derived from the 
soil, in which the lower part of the plant is the best supplied, 
while the upper part of it is starved. Hence the top shoots 
decrease in size every succeeding year, because a sufficient 
supply of sap cannot be obtained to give them their proper 
developement. This is analogous to the phenomena of animal 
life" when the action of the heart is too feeble to propel the blood 
through the whole of the system. For then the extremities are 
always the first to suffer. And perhaps it may account also for 
the fact, that in bad soils and unfavorable seasons, when the ear 
of barley is not wholly perfected, yet a few of the lower grains 
are always completely developed ; which not only shows the 
great care of Providence for the preservation of the species, but 
points out also the efficient cause. 

10. Contortion. The leaves of plants are often injured by 
means of the puncture of insects, so as to induce a sort of 



VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 81 

disease that discovers itself in the contortion or convolution of 
the margin, or wrinkled appearance of the surface. The leaves 
of the apricot, peach and nectarine, are extremely liable to be 
thus affected in June and July. The leaf that has been 
punctured soon begins to assume a rough and wrinkled figure, 
and a reddish and scrofulous appearance, particularly on the 
upper surface. The margins roll inwards on the under side, 
and inclose the eggs which are scattered irregularly on the surface, 
giving it a blackish and granular appearance, but without 
materially injuring its health. In the vine the substance deposited 
on the leaf is whitish, giving the under surface a sort of a frosty 
appearance, but not occasioning the red and scrofulous aspect 
of the upper surface of the leaf like that of the nectarine. 

Sometimes the upper surface of the leaf is covered with 
clusters of wart like substances somewhat subulate and acute. 
They seem to be occasioned by means of a puncture made on the 
under surface, on which a number of openings are discoverable, 
penetrating into the warts which are hollow and villous within. 

11. Consumption. From barren or improper soil, unfavora- 
ble climate, careless planting or too frequent flowering, exhausting 
the strength of the plant, it often happens that disease is induced 
which terminates in a gradual decline and wasting away of the 
plant, till at length, it is wholly dried up. Sometimes it is also 
occasioned by excessive drought, or by dust lodging on the 
leaves, or by fumes issuing from manufactories which may happen 
to be situated in the neighborhood ; or by the attacks of insects. 

There is a consumptive affection that frequently attacks the 
pine tree, called Tepedo pinorum, which affects the alburnum 
and inner bark chiefly, and seems to proceed from long continued 
drought, or from frost suddenly succeeding mild or warm 
weather or heavy winds. The leaves assume a tinge of yellow 
bordering upon red. A great number of small drops of resin 
exude from the middle of the boughs of a putrid odor. The 
bark exfoliates, and the alburnum presents a livid appearance. 
The tree swarms with insects, and the disease is incurable, 
inducing inevitably the total decay and death of the individual. 
11 



83 SYLVA AMERICANA. 



Natural Decay. 



In the preceding section we have stated the chief of the 
diseases to which plants are liable, whether from external injuries, 
or from internal derangement. But although a plant should not 
suffer from the influence of accidental injury, or from disease, 
still there will come a time when its several organs will begin to 
experience the approaches of a natural decline insensibly stealing 
upon it, and at last inducing death. For in the vegetable as 
well as in the animal kingdom, there is a term or limit set, 
beyond which the individual cannot pass, though the duration of 
vegetable existence is very different in different species. 

Some plants are annuals and last for one season only, springing 
up suddenly from seed, attaining rapidly to maturity, producing 
and again sowing their seeds, and afterwards immediately 
perishing. Such is the character of the various species of corn. 
Some plants continue to live for a period of two years, and are 
therefore called biennials, springing up the first year from seed, 
and producing root and leaves, but no fruit ; and in the second 
year producing both flower and fruit, as exemplified in the carrot, 
parsnip and cabbage. Odier plants are perennials, that is, lasting 
for many years ; of which some are called under shrubs, and die 
down to the root every year ; others are called shrubs, and are 
permanent both by the root and stem, but do not attain to a 
great height or great age ; others are called trees, and are not 
only permanent by both root and stem, but attain to a great size 
and live to a great age. The oak tree in particular is remarkable 
both for its longevity and size, being at least 100 years before it 
attains to its utmost perfection, continuing vigorous for perhaps 
100 years more, and then beginning to decay. 

But even of plants that are woody and perennial, there are 
parts which perish annually, or which are, at least annually 
separated from the individual ; namely, the leaves, flowers and 
fruit, leaving nothing behind but the bare caudex, which submits 
in its turn to the ravages of time, and ultimately to death. 
Hence the ground of a division of the subject exhibiting, first 



VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 83 

the phenomena of the temporary organs, and secondly, the 
phenomena of the decay of the permanent organs and consequent 
death of the plant. 

Decay of the Temporary Organs. 

The decay of the temporary organs which takes place annually 
-is a phenomenon familiar to every body, and comprehends the fall 
of the leaf, the fall of the flower and the fall of the fruit. 

1. The fall of the leaf. The fall of the leaf, or annual 
defoliation of the plant, commences for the most part with the 
colds of the autumn, and is accelerated by the frosts of winter, 
that strip the forest of its foliage, and the landscape of its verdure. 
But there are some trees that retain their leaves throughout the 
whole winter, though changed to a dull and dusky brown, as 
those of the beach tree ; and there are others that retain them 
even in verdure till the succeeding spring, when they ultimately 
fall. Such plants are denominated evergreens. 

It was at one time indeed a vulgar error, and perhaps it 
continues to be so still, that evergreens never shed their leaves 
at all. This error may be traced back even to the period of the 
fabulous history of the Greeks, with whose mythology it was 
closely interwoven, at least in one particular example as related 
by Theophrastus ; who says that in the country of Cortynia, in 
Crete, it was reported there was a plane tree growing by a 
fountain which never shed its leaves, being the tree under the 
shade of which Jupiter was said to have had his interview with 
Europa. But Theophrastus was himself acquainted with the 
fact of the fall of the leaves of evergreens, as every accurate 
observer of nature must be, though they do not actually fall till 
the young leaves have begun to appear, so that trees of this sort 
are never left wholly without leaves, which it was hence supposed 
they never shed. In warm climates it is said that many plants 
retain their leaves for several years ; but in temperate and polar 
cliTiiates there are no such plants to be found. 

Such is the fact of the annual fall of the leaves. What is the 
cause of their fall ? The solution of this question seems to have 



o4 SYLTA AMERICANA. 

totally baffled the attempts of phytologists, and to have been a puzzle 
that no one could make out. Du Hamel, one of the most sagacious 
and mdustrious of all phytologists, labored hard to explicate the 
phenomenon, but without success. He observed that leaves 
which fall the soonest transpire the most, and are consequently 
the soonest exhausted and rendered unfit for the discharge of 
their functions ; so that the period of the fall of the leaves of 
different species is probably in proportion to their capacity for 
transpiration. Their fall is accelerated by frost, or by excessive 
heat, followed by rain. It is also accelerated, if not actually 
induced, by the structure of the pedicle which is very different 
from that of the branch, having no prolongation of pith, and 
nothing analogous in its mode of insertion, nor in its external 
figure, which is divisible into an upper and under surface 
resembling the figure of the leaf. He compares the union of 
the leaf and stem to that of the joints of the vine twig, which at 
a certain period of its growth are stronger than the internodia, 
but which readily give way after a frost. The comparison, 
however, throws but little light on the subject, as the illustration 
is itself, full as dark as the thing to be illustrated. But he offers 
an additional conjecture which is considerably more luminous ; 
when the sap begins to flow less plentifully, the leaves, to whose 
vigor a great supply is necessary, soon become dry and conse- 
quently less fit to convey it. But it is known that the branches 
grow in thickness after they have ceased to grow in length, which 
must necessarily occasion, in some degree, a disruption of the 
fibres of the foot stalk and stem or branch, at the point of 
articulation j and hence the leaf loses its hold, and falls. This 
is certainly a very plausible conjecture ; though it may be doubted 
whether the explication will apply to the case of evergreens, or 
of plants in warm climates, that retain their leaves for several 
years. It is not therefore, altogether satisfactory ; and hence 
other explications have accordingly been offered. 

The first of these explications of which we shall now take any 
notice is that of Willdenow ; it is as follows. As the sap is 
conveyed to the leaves in greater abundance during the summer, 
the vessels of the petiole become gradually more woody, as well 



VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 85 

as the whole of the leaf. The sap in consequence stagnates, 
and at last the bond of union between the leaf and stem is dried • 
up, and cracks. The wound that the stem thus receives cicatrizes 
before the petiole separates ; and the petiole separates at last in 
consequence of the interrupted connexion between the leaf and 
stem, which the crack has occasioned. This, it must be 
confessed, does not make up for the deficiencies of the hypothesis 
of Du Hamel ; for in the first place there is no proof that the 
bond of union between the leaf and stem cracks in the manner 
here supposed. And even upon the supposition of its being the 
fact, it is, in the second place, extremely improbable that the 
petiole should after the cracking of this bond of union still 
continue attached to the stem, till the wound thus occasioned has 
cicatrized ; because when the original bond of union cracks, 
there remains no other bond of union by which the petiole is to 
retain its hold. 

Another explication is that of Vorlick, as quoted by Willdenow ; 
the leaf which possesses a peculiar vitality within itself, though 
dependant upon the vitality of the plant, and generally of shorter 
duration, dies when it reaches maturity ; and the plant, being 
able to exist for a time without leaves, throws off the dead leaf 
as the animal throws off the dead part from the sound part. But 
the peculiar vitality which the leaf is here supposed to possess 
seems to be altogether a groundless assumption, and an unphilo- 
sophical multiplication of causes without any apparent necessity. 
Is it not the individual vitality of the plant extended to a 
perishable organ, and again withdrawn when that organ has 
discharged its destined functions, or become by disease or decay 
unfit for the purposes of vegetation ? This, we presume, is a 
better founded supposhion than the foregoing ; though the 
reference to the phenomenon of the throwing off of the dead 
part from the sound part in the animal subject is sufficiently well 
adapted to the purposes of illustration ; and the analogy suffi- 
ciently striking, at least under some of its aspects, to warrant its 
introduction. It does not, however, seem quite evident that the 
idea of sloughing is comprehended in the opinion of Vorlick, at 
least as represented by Willdenow ; but if so, the analogy does 



86 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

not appear to be very well made out. Sloughing, in the animal 
* economy, is that power, or the exertion of that power by which 
the vital principle is capable of throwing off a part that has 
accidentally become diseased and unfit for discharging the 
functions to which it was originally destined ; but not that power 
by which it is capable of throwing off a distinct organ intended 
by nature to be finally separated from the individual. Now in 
the case of the defoliation of the plant, there is, for the most part 
no disease, but merely a gradual and natural decay which reduces 
the leaf to a state, indeed, no longer fit for the purposes of 
vegetation, but to which it was intended by nature to be reduced 
for the purpose of facilitating its separation from the plant : and 
hence it always separates in a determinate manner, and at a 
determinate point, namely, at the base of the foot stalk, which 
forms as it were a sort of natural joint or articulation, to which 
there is nothing analogous in the case of sloughing. If this were 
not the fact, it might be expected that a part of a leaf, or even 
the whole of it, should occasionally become permanent, as well 
as in the branches, though no such thing has ever yet happened. 
And with the sloughing of the diseased part there is 3^et another 
circumstance clashing with the analogy that is here instituted. 
The part supplying the place of the slough, or throwing it off, is 
formed or exists already formed immediately beneath it, and is 
precisely of the same character with what the slough originally 
was ; which slough it pushes off as it comes itself to maturity, or 
acquires strength sufficient for the effort. But the leaves fall off 
when they have reached maturity of their own accord, wilhout 
being at all pushed off by the new ones, which are yet merely in 
embryo, and do not even occupy the place of old leaves, but are 
only formed contiguous to them, except in the case of the plane 
tree, the new leaf of which is formed precisely under the base 
of the foot stalk of the old leaf; and yet we would not call the 
fall of that leaf sloughing, because the new leaf does not after all 
push off the old one ; and because there is here, as in other 
cases, the same natural articulation uniting the leaf to the branch 
or stem, and rendering it a distinct organ that is ultimately and 
spontaneously to detach itself from the plant. Not that there 



VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 87 

exists any example whatever of vegetable sloughing, which the 
same tree will also furnish in the annual or rather continual 
exfoliation of its bark, but that the fall of the leaf does not seem 
to afford that example. 

We can foi'esee an objection that may be urged against the 
above argument from the fact of the sloughing of the entire skin 
of the snake, and other species of serpents, which may be 
regarded as a distinct organ. But although the skin of the snake 
or any other animal may be regarded as a distinct organ, yet it 
must be in a light very different from that of an organ attached 
to the body of a plant or animal by a natural joint or articulation 
that comes asunder of its own accord ; for the skin of the animal 
in question is forced off in the manner of a slough merely by 
means of the formation of a new skin beneath it, which has 
already taken the place of the old skin in the living system, and 
to which it has just been shown that there exists nothing whatever 
analogous in the fall of the leaf. So that, after all, the best 
reason we can give is, perhaps, that the leaves fall in consequence 
of their being worn out, and no longer necessary to the immediate 
process of vegetation ; which is evidently divisible into animal 
stages commencing with the approach of spring, and terminating 
with the return of winter, which is to the vital principle, 
apparently, a period of rest. If it is necessaiy, however, to 
attempt an exemplication ofthe process by which the leaf is made 
ultimately to detach itself from the plant, it may be obseived 
that it consists wholly in the change that is eflected in the 
articulation uniting the foot stalk to the branch ; for in the case 
in which the injury extends suddenly beyond the leaf, the leaf 
may wither and decay, but will not fall off, because the articulation 
has not been duly prepared, and because the vital principle can 
now no longer act upon it from the intervention of the dead or 
diseased portion of the plant beyond which it has withdrawn 
Itself. But in the natural process of vegetation the necessary 
change is effected by the leaf on the one hand, in its yielding 
to the influence of physical or chemical agencies, and withering 
and shrinking into narrow compass, when the usual supply of sap 
is no longer transmitted to it ; and by the vital principle on the 



88 SYLVA AMERICANA, 

Other, in its controlling and directing of chemical agencies so as 
to facilitate the final detachment of the foot stalk, and form the 
scar necessai^y to its own protection. And this effect is operated 
by the converting of the substance that cements the respective 
fibres of the leaf stalk and branch together from a soft and 
glutinous to a dry and brittle consistence, analogous to the change 
that takes place in the seams of the valves of ripening capsules 
or pericarps, so that the leaf falls at last merely by force of its 
own weight, or of the slightest breath of wind, but without the 
intervention of any previous chink or crack. And if it is 
necessary to illustrate the fall of the leaf by any analogous process 
in the animal economy, it may be compared to that of the 
shedding of the antlers of the stag, or of the hair or feathers of 
other animals, which being Hke the leaves of plants, distinct and 
peculiar organs, fall off and are regenerated annually, but do not 
slough. 

2. The fall of the flow er. The flowers, which like leaves, 
are only temporary organs, and for the most part very short- 
lived ; for, as the object of their production is merely that of 
effecting the impregnation of the germ, that object is no sooner 
obtained than they begin again to give indications of decay, and 
speedily fall from the plant ; so that the most beautiful of the 
vegetable is also the most transient. The flower of the Cactus 
grandiflorus, the most magnificent of all flowers, no sooner 
expands than it begins to decay, and before the sun has risen 
upon it, its beauty is gone. The flowers of the tulip and poppy, 
though very gaudy, are very short-lived ; and the beautiful 
blossom of our fruit trees soon begin to fade. The scene often 
continues blooming indeed, both in the landscape of nature and 
of art, but that is more owing to the succession of blossoms on 
the same or on different plants, than to the permanency of 
individual blossoms. And so also of the flowers that adorn the 
field or meadow ; they spring up in continual succession, but are 
individually of very short duration. 

3. The fall of the fruit. The fruit, which begins to appear 
conspicuous when the flower falls, expands and increases in 
volume, and, assuming' a peculiar hue as it ripens, ultimately 



VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY. 89 

detaches itself from the parent plant and drops into the soil. 
But it does not in all cases detach itself in the same manner ; 
thus in the bean and pea the seed vessel opens and lets the seeds 
fall out; while in the apple, pear and cherry, the fruit falls 
entire, inclosing the seed, which escapes when the pericarp 
decays. JVIost fruits fall soon after ripening, as the cherry and 
apricot, if not gathered ; but some remain long attached to the 
parent plant after being fully ripe, as in the case of Cratagus 
or hawthorn which may be seen in the hedges in the midst of 
winter, and of Mespilus, or medlar, and a variety of others 
which continue till the succeeding spring. But these, though 
tena'cious of their hold, detach themselves at last, as well as all 
others, and bury themselves in the soil, about to give birth to a 
new individual in the germination of the seed. The fall of the 
flower and fruit is accounted for in the same manner as that of 
the leaf. 

Decay of the Permanent Organs. 

Such then is the process and presumptive rationale of the 
decay and detachment of the temporary organs of the plant. 
But there is also a period beyond which even the permanent 
organs themselves can no longer carry on the process of 
vegetation. Plants are affected by the infirmities of old age as 
well as animals, and are found to exhibit also similar symptoms 
of approaching dissolution. The root refuses to imbibe the 
nourishment afforded by the soil, or if it does imbibe a portion, 
it is but feebly propelled, and partially distributed, through the 
tubes of the alburnum ; the elaboration of the sap is now effected 
with difficulty, as well as assimilation of the proper juice,' the 
descent of which is almost totally obstructed; the bark becomes 
thick and woody, and covered with moss and lichens ; the shoots 
become stinted and diminutive ; and the fruits palpably degen- 
erate, both in quantity and quality. The smaller or terminal 
branches fade and decay the first, and then the larger branches 
also, together with the trunk and root ; the vital principle 
gradually declines without any chance of recovery, and is at last 
12 



90 SYLTA AMERICANA. 

totally extinguished ; while the solid mass of the plant exposed 
to the chemical action of surrounding substances, to which it now 
yields, withers and dies away, presenting to the eye a decayed 
and rotten appearance, and crumbling into dust from which it 
originally sprang. Such is the transient duration of the vegetable, 
and counterpart of animal life. 



Explanation of Plate I. 

Fig. 1 . A transverse section of a branch of ash, as it appears 
to the eye. 

Fig. 2. The same section magnified. A, the bark. B, the 
wood. C, the pith, a, the cuticle, h, an arched ring of sap 
vessels next the cuticle, cc, the cellular substance of the bark 
with hs cells, and other arched rings of sap vessels, d, a circular 
line of lymph ducts, immediately below the above arched ring, 
e, the liber, h, the first year's growth, g, the second. /, the 
third year's growth, h, the great air vessels. Z, the small ones. 

Fig. 3. Anatomy of wood after Mirbel, magnified, a, the 
cellular texture. The membraneous sides of all these cells and 
tubes, are very thin, more or less transparent, often porous, 
variously perforated or torn, h, a bundle of entire vessels 
without perforations, c, tubes pierced with holes ranged in a 
close spiral line, d, tubes having several of these holes running 
together, as it were, into interrupted spiral clefts, e, tubes, which, 
in some young branches and tender leaves, will unroll to a con- 
siderable extent, when they are gently torn asunder. 

Fig. 4. A garden bean (Viciafaba), laid open, showing 
its two cotyledons. /, the radicle, or that part of the corculum 
which afterwards forms the root ; g^ the corculum or germ. 

Fig. 5. A bean which has made some progress in vegetation, 
showing the descending root, the ascending plumula and skin 
of the seed bursting irregularly. 



Plate I. 




♦ 



\ 



\ 



%- 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



PART II. 



DENDROLOGY. 



ABIES. 

Monoecia Monadelpliia. Linn. ConiferiB. Juss. Expectorant, 
secernant, stimulant. 

White or Single Spkuce. Abies alba. 

This tree, which appertains 
to the coldest regions of 
North America, is called in 
Canada Epinette blanche^ in 
Nova Scotia White Spruce, 
and in New Brunswick and 
the state of Maine Single 
Spruce. As the last two 
denominations are generally- 
known, we have adopted that 
which appeared the best. It 
is most abundant in Lower 
Canada, Newfoundland, New 
Brunswick, Nova Scotia, in 
Maine,Vermont, New Hamp- 

PLATE II. 
Fig. 1. A branch with a cone. Fig. 2. A seed. shirO and MaSSachuSCttS, but 

is rarely seen farther south except in cold and humid situations. 
The situations in which the white spruce is the most abundant is 
of a moist sandy loam. 




94 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

It usually attains the height of 40 or 50 feet, and a diameter 
of 12 or 16 inches at three feet from the ground. Its trunk is 
more tapering than the black spruce, and like which is a regular 
pyramid, but less branching and tufted. The bark is lighter 
colored, and the difference is more striking upon the young 
shoots. The leaves are of a pale, bluish green, whence is derived 
its specific name alba, about four lines in length, encompassing 
the branches like the black species, but less numerous, more 
pointed and at a more open angle with the branches. It flowers 
in May or June, which are succeeded by reddish cones of a 
lengthened oval form, about two inches in one direction, and six 
or eight lines in the other : the dimensions vary according to the 
vigor of the tree, but the form is unchangeable. The scales are 
loose and thin, with entire edges, unlike those of the black 
spruce. The seeds, also, are rather smaller, and are ripe about 
the end of autumn. 

The wood is employed for the same uses as the black spruce 
which will be hereafter described ; it is, however, inferior in 
quality, and snaps more frequently in burning. The fibres of 
the roots, macerated in water, are very flexible and tough ; being 
deprived in the operation of their pellicle, they are used in 
Canada to stitch together their canoes of birch bark, the seams 
of which are afterwards smeared with a resin that distils from 
the tree. The bark is sometimes used in tanning, though much 
inferior to the hemlock spruce. The branches are not used for 
beer, because the leaves when bruised diffuse an unpleasant odor, 
which they are said to communicate to the liquid. The resin 
of this tree is composed of a fragrant essential oil, and probably 
containing sylvic or pinic acid. It is solid, dry, brittle, of a pale 
yellowish brown color, frequently intermixed with white streaks 
and whitish when broken. Medicinally it is a stimulant and 
rubefacient, and is employed externally in form of plaster in 
chronic catarrh, hooping cough, rheumatic pains, etc. 



DENDROLOGY. 



95 




PLATE m. 
Fig. 1. A branch with a cone. Fig. 2. A seed. 



American Silver Fir. Mies bahamifera. 

The coldest regions of 
North America are the native 
country of this species of 
spruce. In the United States, 
Canada and Nova Scotia, it 
is called Silver Fir, Fir 
Balsam, and Balsam of Gil- 
ead. It does not constitute 
masses of woods, but is 
disseminated, in a greater or 
less abundance, among the 
hemlock and black spruces; 
Farther south it is found only 
on the summit of the AUe- 
ghanies, and particularly on 
the highest mountains of 
North Carolina. Like the 
other spruces it generally flourishes best in a moist sandy loam. 
Its height rarely exceeds 40 feet, with a diameter of 12 or 15 
inches. The trunk tapers from a foot in diameter at the surface 
of the ground to 7 or 8 inches, at the height of 6 feet. When 
standing alone and developing itself naturally, its branches, which 
are numerous and thickly garnished with leaves, diminish in length 
in proportion to their height, and form a pyramid of perfect 
regularity. The bark is smooth and delicate. The leaves are 
6 or 8 lines long, and are inserted singly on the sides and on the 
top of the branches ; they are narrow, rigid and flat, of a bright 
green above and a silvery white beneath ; whence probably is 
derived the name of the tree. It flowers in May, and is followed 
by cones of a fragrant odor, which are nearly cylindrical, 4 or 5 
inches long, an inch in diameter, and always directed upwards. 
The seeds are ripe in autumn, and if permitted to hang late will 
fall apart and scatter themselves. 

The wood of the silver fir is light and slightly resinous, and 
the heart is yellowish. It is sometimes used for the staves of 



96 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



casks used for packing fish ; but for this purpose many other 
kinds of wood are preferred. The resin of the pines is extracted 
by means of incisions in the body of the tree, at which it exudes 
from the pores of the bark and from the sap vessels of the 
alburnum. In the silver fir this substance is naturally deposited 
in vesicles on the trunk and limbs, and is collected by bursting 
these tumors and receiving their contents in appropriate vessels. 
This resin is sold in Europe and the United States under the 
name of Balm of Gilead, though every body knows that the true 
balm of Gilead is produced by the Amyris gileadensis, a very 
different vegetable and a native of Asia ; perhaps the name has 
been borrowed in consequence of some resemblance between the 
substances in taste and smell. The fresh turpentine is a greenish 
transparent fluid of an acrid penetrating taste ; given inconsider- 
ately it produces heat in the bladder, and applied to wounds it 
causes inflammation and acute pains. It has been highly 
celebrated in England, and is recommended in certain stages of 
the pulmonary consumption. 



Hemlock Spruce. 




Fig. 1. 



PLATE IV. 
A branch with a cone. 



Ffs. ?. A seed. 



Ahies canadensis. 

The hemlock spruce is 
known only by this name 
throughout the United States, 
and by that oiPerusse among 
the French Canadians. It 
is natural to the coldest re- 
gions of America, and begins 
to appear about Hudson's 
Bay, near lake St. John, 
and in the neighborhood of 
Quebec it fills the forests, 
and in Nova Scotia, New 
Brunswick, the state of 
Maine, Vermont and a con- 
siderable part of New Hamp- 
shire, it constitutes three- 
fourths of the evergreen 



I^ENDROLOGY. 97 

woods. Farther south it is less common, and in the Middle and 
Southern States is seldom seen except on the Alleghanies ; even 
there it is often confined to the sides of the torrents and to the most 
humid and gloomy exposures. Moist grounds appear not to be 
in general the most favorable to its growth. It flourishes best 
in a sandy loam at the foot of hills where corn will thrive. 

The hemlock spruce arrives at the height of 70 or 80 feet, 
with a circumference of 6 or 9 feet, and uniform for two thirds of 
its length. In a favorable soil it has an elegant appearance while 
less than 30 feet high, owing to the symmetrical arrangement of 
its branches and to its tufted foliage, and at this age it is employed 
in landscape gardening. When arrived at its full growth, the 
large limbs are usually broken off 4 or 5 feet from the trunk, by 
the weight of snows, and the dried extremities are seen starting 
out through the little twigs which spring around them. In this 
mutilated stale, by which it is easily recognized, it has a disa- 
greeable aspect, and presents, while in full vigor, an image of 
decrepitude. The bark is of a grayish color when young, but 
grows lighter when old, generally covered with moss. The 
leaves are 6 or 8 lines long, flat, numerous, irregularly disposed 
in two ranks, and downy at their unfolding. It flowers in May, 
and is succeeded by cones of an ash-colorcd bay, which are a little 
longer than the leaves, oval, pendulous, and situated at the 
extremity of the branches. Its seed comes to maturity about 
the end of autumn. 

Unhappily the properties of its wood are such as to give this 
species only a secondary importance, notwithstanding its abundant 
diffusion : it is the least valuable in this respect of all the large 
resinous trees of North America. But the regret which we should 
experience to see it occupying so extensively the place of more 
useful species, is forbidden by a property of its bark inestimable 
to the country where it grows, that of being applicable in tanning. 
The wood is found to decay rapidly when exposed to the 
vicissitudes of the weather, and is therefore improper for the 
external covering of houses. But as the white pine becomes 
rarer this species is substituted for it as extensively as possible : it 
is firmer, though coarser grained, affords a tighter hold to nails, 
13 



98 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



and offers more resistance to the inripression of other bodies. 
The most common use, in which great quantities of it are con- 
sumed in the Northern States is for tlie first sheathing of wooden 
houses, which are afterwards covered with white pine clap hoards. 
For economy the interior frame is sometimes made of hemlock 
spruce, and it is found when protected from humidity, to be as 
durable as any other species. It is well adapted to lathes of the 
interior walls, and is exported in this form to England. In the 
Eastern States it is taken for the posts of rural fence, which last 
about fifteen years, and are preferable to those of gray and red 
oak. Its bark is used as a substitute for that of the oaks in the 
preparation of leather. It is taken from the tree in June, and 
half of the epidermis is shaven off before it is thrown into the 
mill. Its deep red color is imparted to the leather, which is 
said to be inferior to oak bark, but the two species united are 
better than either of them alone. The bark contains a small 
quantity of resin, commonly called Hemlock Balsam, which is 
applied to similar purposes as the resin of the white spruce. 



Black or Double Spruce. Abies nigra. 




Fig. 1. A seed. 



PLATE V. 

Fig. 2. A branclr willi a ((inc. 



This species is indigenous 
to the same countries as the 
white spruce, and is called 
Epinette noire Rnd Ejnnette 
a la Mere in Canada, Double 
Spruce in the state of Maine, 
and Black Spruce in Nova 
Scotia, though the last two 
denominations are known 
throughout all these coun- 
tries. We have preferred 
that of Black Spruce, which 
expresses a striking character 
of the tree, and is contrasted 
with that of the white species. 
From the influence of the 



DENDROLOGY- 99 

soil upon the wood it is sometimes called Red Spruce. The 
black spruce is most abundant in the countries lying between the 
44th and 53d degrees of latitude, and between the 55th and 75th 
degrees of longitude ; and it is so multiplied as often to constitute a 
third part of the forests by which they are uninterruptedly covered. 
Farther south it is seldom seen except in cold and humid situa- 
tions, particularly on the top of the Alleghanies. The finest 
forests are to be found in valleys where the soil is black, humid, 
deep and covered with a thick bed of moss. 

The trunk, when it attains its fullest developement, is 70 or 80 
feef in height and from 15 to 20 inches in diameter. The 
summit is a regular pyramid, and has a beautiful appearance on 
insulated trees. This agreeable form is owing to the spreading 
of the branches in a horizontal direction. The trunk is smooth, 
and is remarkable for its perpendicular ascension and for its 
regular diminution from the base to the summit, which is 
terijiinated by an annual shoot of 12 or 15 inches in length. The 
heart is most generally white, but in some situations reddish. 
The leaves are of a dark, gloomy green, about four lines long, 
firm, numerous, and attached singly over the surface of the 
branches. The flowers appear in May at the extremity of the 
highest twigs, and are succeeded by small, reddish, oval cones, 
pointing towards the earth, and varying in length from eight lines 
to two inches. They are composed of thin scales, slightly 
notched at the base, and sometimes split for half their length on 
the most vigorous trees, on which the cones are also the largest : 
they are not ripe till the end of autumn, when they open for the 
escape of the seeds, which are small, light and surmounted by a 
wing, by means of which they are wafted abroad by the wind. 

The distinguishing properties of the wood of black spruce are 
strength, lightness and elasticity. It furnishes the best yards 
and topmasts that can be used. The red variety is superior in 
size to the other, which grows in a poorer soil, and is less supple 
and more liable to be crooked. The knees of vessels are fre- 
quently of black spruce where the oak is rare. When these 
pieces are of oak, they are formed of two limbs united at the 
base ; but when of spruce, they are made from the base of the 



100 



SYUVA AMERICANA. 



trunk and one of the principal roots. It is often used for the 
rafters of houses, and is more esteemed than the hemlock spruce. 
It is sometimes sawn into boards of considerable width, which 
are less valuable than those of white pine. Sometimes they are 
used for floors, but they are liable to crack. The red spruce is 
sometimes employed for the staves of fish casks. With the 
young branches, especially those of the black spruce, is made 
the salutary drink known by the name of Spruce Beer, which in 
long voyages is found an efficacious preventative of the scurvy. 
The twigs are boiled in water, a small quantity of molasses or 
maple sugar is added, and the mixture is left to ferment. The 
essence of spruce is obtained by evaporating, to the consistence 
of an extract, water in which the summits of the young branches 
have been boiled. This species is not resinous enbugh to afford 
turpentine as an article of commerce. The wood is filled with 
air and snaps in burning like chesnut. 

ACER. 

Polygamia Monoscia Linn. Acerinefc. Juss. Jiperient, tonic. 



White Maple. 




PLATE Vr. 
Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. The seed. 



.deer eriocarpum. 

In the Atlantic parts of 
the United States this species 
is often confounded with the 
red maple, which it nearly 
resembles ; west of the 
mountains, they are con- 
stantly "distinguished, and the 
Acer eriocarpum is known 
by no other name than M'Tiite 
Maple. It is found on the 
banks of all the rivers which 
flow from the mountains to 
the ocean, though it is less 
common along the streams 
which water the southern 
parts of the Carolinas and 



DENDROLOGY. 101 

of Georgia. In no part of the United States is it more multiplied 
than in the Western Country, and nowhere is its vegetation more 
luxuriant than on the banks of the Ohio, and of the great rivers 
which empty into it. The white maple is found in a sandy loam, 
on the banks of such rivers only as have limpid waters and a 
gravelly bed, and never in swamps and other wet grounds inclosed 
in forests, where the soil is black and miry. These situations, 
on the contrary, are so well adapted to the red maple, that they 
are frequently occupied by it exclusively. 

The trunk of this tree is low, seldom exceeding 25 feet in 
height, though it is often met with on the banks of the Alleghany 
and Monongahela rivers 12 or 15 feet in circumference. It 
divides itself into a great number of limbs so divergent, that they 
form a head more spacious than that of any other tree in our 
country. The brilliant white of the leaves beneath forms a 
striking contrast with the bright green above, and the alternate 
reflection of the two surfaces in the water, heightens the beauty 
of this wonderful moving mirror, and aids in forming an enchanting 
picture to the boatman gliding through these regions of solitude, 
and fills his eye with unwearied admiration. The white maple 
puts forth green and yellow flowers early in the spring : its flowers 
are small and sessile with a downy ovarium. The fruit is larger 
than that of any other species which grows east of the Mississippi. 
It consists of two capsules joined at the base, each of which 
incloses one roundish seed, and is terminated by a large, 
membraneous, falciform wing. In Pennsylvania it is ripe about 
the first of May, and a month earlier in Georgia. At this period, 
the leaves which have attained half their size are very downy 
underneath ; a month later, when fully grown, they are perfectly 
smooth. They are opposite and supported by long petioles ; 
they are divided by deep sinuses into four lobes, are toothed on 
the edges, of a bright green on the upper surface, and of a 
beautiful white beneath. 

The wood of this maple is very white and of a fine texture ; 
but it is softer and lighter than that of any other species in the 
United States, and from its want of strength and durability it is 
little used. It is sometimes used in cabinet making, instead of 



102 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

holly, for inlaying furniture, of mahogany, cherry tree and walnut : 
though it is less jii'oper for this purjoose, as it soon changes color. 
Wooden bowls are also made of it when ash or poplar cannot 
be procured. The charcoal of this wood is preferred by hatters 
to every other, for heating their boilers, as it affords a heat more 
uniform, and of longer duration. In Ohio, the sap is converted 
into sugar by the same process as that of the sugar maple. Like 
the red maple, it yields but half the product from a given measure 
of sap ; but the unrefined sugar is whiter and more agreeable to 
the taste than that of the sugar maple. The sap is in motion 
earlier in this species than in the sugar maple, beginning to 
ascend about the middle of January ; so that the work of 
extracting the sugar is sooner completed. The cellular integu- 
ment rapidly produces a black precipitate with sulphate of iron. 



Mountain Maple. Acer montanum. 

This species is more abundant in Canada, Nova Scotia, and 
along the whole range of the Alleghanies than in any other part 
of North America. It is sometimes called Low Maple, from the 
dwarfish stature of the tree. It is generally called Mountain Maple, 
which seems to be more appropriate, as it grows of preference 
on the declivities of mountains exposed to the north, and in cool, 
moist and shady situations, on the abrupt and rocky banks of 
torrents and rivers. 

The mountain maple seldom rises above 20 feet in height, and 
it often blooms at an elevation less than six feet. It most 
frequently grows in the form of a shrub, with a single and straight 
stock. The leaves are large, opposite and divided into three 
acute and indented lobes : they are slightly hairy at their 
infolding, and when fully grown, they are uneaven and of dark 
green upon the upper surface. It puts forth small blossoms, of 
a greenish color, which are produced in semi-erect spikes from 
two to four inches in length. The seeds which are smaller than 
those of any other of the American maple, are fixed upon slender, 
pendulous foot stalks ; they are reddish at their maturity, and 



DENDROLOGY. 



103 



each of them are surmounted by a membraneous wing, and has 
a small cavity upon one side. 

The mountain maple is too small to be profitably cultivated 
for its wood, and as its flowers, its roots and its bark are destitute 
of any very sensible odor, it promises no resources to medicine. 
It is sometimes grafted on the sycamore, and like the moose 
wood, it is thus augmented to double its natural size. 



Ash-Leaved Maple. Jicer negundo. 

In the country west of 
the AUeghanies, where this 
tree is uncommon, it is 
called Box Elder; and is 
called by the French of 
Illinois, Erable a Giguieres. 
This tree is seldom found 
in the Northern States or in 
the maritime parts of the 
Southern. It grows on the 
banks of the Delaware in 
the neighborhood of Phila- 
delphia, and even there it is 
rare. West of the moun- 
tains, on the contrary, it is 
extremely multiplied. It 
grows most abundantly in 
the bottoms which skirt the rivers, where the soil is deep, fertile, 
constantly moist, and often inundated with water. 

The ash-leaved maple attains the height of 40 or 50 feet, and 
a diameter of 15 or 20 inches. The bark of the trunk is brown 
and has a disagreeable odor in the cellular integument. The 
proportion of the sap to the heart is large, except in very old 
trees : in these the heart is variegated with rose-colored and 
bluish veins. It branches at a small height and expands into a 
head like that of the apple tree. The leaves are opposite, and 
are from 6 to 15 inches long, according to the vigor of the tree, 




PLATE VI r. 
Fig. 1. A leaflet. Fig. 2. The seed. 



104 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



and the moisture of the soil in which it grows. Each leaf is 
composed of two pair of leaflets with an odd one. The leaflets 
are petiolated, oval-acuminate, and sharply toothed : towards 
autumn, the common petiole is of a deep red. It puts forth 
greenish flowers in April or May. The barren and fertile ones 
are borne on different trees, and are supported by slender pen- 
dulous penduncles, 6 or 7 inches in length. The seeds are 
double the length of those of the mountain maple surmounted 
with membraneous wings. 

No particular use is made of the wood in the arts, though 
from its luxuriant growth it would afford a profitable product as 
fuel. 



Black Sugar Maple. Acer nigrum. 

In the Western States, and 
the parts of Pennsylvania, 
between the mountains and 
the Ohio, this species is 
called Sugar Tree, and more 
frequenilyBlack Sugar Tree; 
probably, on account of the 
dark color of its leaves in 
comparison with those of 
the sugar maple, which 
sometimes grows with it. 
In the extensive country of 
Genesee both species are 
indiscriminately called Rock 
Maple and Sugar Maple. 
The two species have been 
confounded by botanists in 
describing the vegetable productions of America. Its most 
northern regions are in New Hampshire and Vermont, on the 
Connecticut ; but from its inferior size it may be inferred that it 
belongs to a more southern climate. Accordingly, a few degrees 
lower, it forms a large part of the forests of Genesee, and covers 




Fig. 1. 



PLATE VIII. 
a leaf. Fig. 2. The seed. 



DENDROLOGY. 105 

the immense valleys, through which flow the great rivers of the 
west, where it is one of the most common and one of the loftiest 
trees. The soil in which it best flourishes is a rich, strong, sandy- 
loam. 

It usually grows to the height of 40 or 50 feet with a diameter 
of 15 or 20 inches. When the tree stands alone, it naturally 
assumes a regular and agreeable shape. Its leaves are 4 or 5 
inches long, and exhibit, in every respect, nearly the same 
conformation as those of the true sugar maple. They differ 
from them, principally, in being of a deeper green and of a 
thicker texture, and in having more open sinuses : they are also 
slightly downy, which is most sensibly perceptible on the main 
rib. It puts forth flowers of a greenish color in April or May, 
which, like those of the sugar maple, are suspended by long, 
flexible peduncles : the seeds, also, are similar, and are ripe 
about the same time, that is, about the first of October. 

The wood is much like that of the sugar maple, but coarser 
grained, and less brilliant when polished. It is little used in the 
arts, because wherever it abounds, other trees are found more 
useful. It is considered after the hickories as the best of fuel. 
Its most important use is for making sugar, which is made in the 
same manner as that of the other species. 



14 



lOG 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



Red-Flowering Maple. Acer rubrum. 




PLATE IX. 
Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. The seed. 



Different names are given 
to this tree, in different parts 
of the United States : east 
of the Alleghanies it is cal- 
led Red-Flowering Maple, 
Swamp JWaple and Soft 
Maple; in the Western Coun- 
try simply Maple. The 
first denomination, which is 
most generally in use, is also 
the most appropriate, as the 
young shoots, the flowers 
and the fruit are red. To- 
ward the north, the red- 
flowering maple appears first 
in the latitude of 48 degrees ; 
but it soon becomes more 
common in proceeding southward, and is found abundant to the 
extremities of Florida and Lower Louisiana. Of all the trees 
which flourish in wet grounds occasionally overflowed, this species 
is most multiplied in the Middle and Southern States. It occupies, 
in great part, the borders of the creeks, and abounds in all the 
swamps which are often inundated, and always miry. West of 
the mountains it is seen growing in a sandy loam on elevated 
situations. 

In the maple swamps of New Jersey and Pennsylvania it is 
found 60 or 70 feet in height, and 3 or 4 feet in diameter. It is 
the earliest tree whose blossoms announce the return of spring. 
It flowers from the middle to the last of April. The blossoms of 
a beautiful purple or deep red, unfold more than a fortnight 
before the leaves. They are sessile, aggregate, and situated at 
the extremity of the branches. The leaves are smaller than 
•those of the white maple, but in some respects, they resemble 
them. They are glaucous, or whitish underneath, and are 



DENDROLOGV. 107 

palmated or divided into 3 or 4 acuminate lobes, irregularly 
toothed. The extremities of this tree, which are formed by 
numerous twigs united at the base, have a remarkable appearance 
when garnished with flowers and seeds of a deep red, before 
vegetation has begun generally to revive. The fruit is suspended 
by long flexible peduncles, and is of the same hue with the 
flowers, though it varies in size and in the intensity of its coloring, 
according to the exposure and dampness of the soil. It ripens 
on the last of April or first oi - ay. Before this tree exceeds 25 
or 30 feet in height and 7 or 8 inches in diameter, its bark is 
perfectly smooth and marked with white blotches, by which it is 
easily distinguishable. Afterwards the trunk becomes brown and 
chapped. In this tree, as in others which grow in wet places, 
the sap bears a large proportion to the heart, if indeed the name 
heart can properly be given to the irregular star which occupies 
the centre of large trunks, with points, from one to three inches 
in length, projecting into the sap. 

The wood of the red-flowering maple is applicable to interesting 
uses. It is harder than that of the white maple, and of a finer 
and closer grain : hence it is easily wrought in the lathe, and 
acquires by polishing a glossy and silken surface. It is sufiiciently 
soHd, and for many purposes it is preferred by workmen to other 
kinds of wood. It is much used for yokes and the handles of 
agricultural implements, wooden dishes and other domestic 
wares. It sometimes happens that in very old trees, the grain 
instead of following a perpendicular direction, is undulated, and 
this variety is termed Curled Maple. This singular arrangement 
is never witnessed in young trees, nor in the branches of such as 
exhibit it in the trunk : it is less conspicuous at the centre, than 
near the circumference. Trees offering this disposition, however, 
are rare. The serpentine direction of the fibre, which renders 
them difficult to split and to work, produces in the hands of a 
skilful mechanic, the most beautiful effects of light and shade. 
These effects are rendered more striking, if, after smoothing the 
surface of the wood with a double-ironed plane, it is rubbed with 
a little sulphuric acid, and afterwards with linseed oil. On close 
examination, the varying shades are found to be owing entirely 



108 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



to the inflection of the rays of light; which is more sensibly 
perceived in viewing it in different directions by candle light. 
In cabinet making, furniture is made of it, which, in richness and 
lustre, exceeds the finest mahogany. It is much used for the 
stocks of fowling pieces and rifles, which to elegance and lightness 
unite a solidity resulting from the accidental direction of the fibre. 
The cellular integument is of a dusky red, which, by boiling, 
yields a purplish color, and on the addition of sulphate of iron, 
becomes dark blue approaching to black. With a portion of 
alum in solution, it is used for dying black. The French Cana- 
dians make sugar from the sap of this maple, but, as in the white 
maple, the product of a given measure is only half as great as is 
obtained from the sugar maple. The wood does not burn well, 
and is not much esteemed for fuel. 



SuGAK Maple. Jlcer saccharinum. 

This species, the most 
interesting of American ma- 
ples, is called Rock Maple, 
Hard Maple and Sugar 
Maple. The first of these 
names is most generally 
used, but we prefer the last, 
because it indicates one of 
the most valuable properties 
of the tree. It is found 
most abundantly between the 
46th and 43d degrees of 
latitude, which comprises 
Canada, New Brunswick, 
Nova Scotia, Vermont, New 
Hampshire and the state of 
Maine : in these regions, it 
enters largely into the composition of the forests with which they 
are still covered. Farther south, it is common only in Genesee, 
in New York, and in the upper parts of Pennsylvania. In the 




Fig. 1, 



PLATE X. 

A leaf. Fi-'. 2. 



The seed. 



DENDROLOGY. 109 

lower parts of Virginia, of the Carolinas, and of Georgia, and 
likewise the Western States this tree is unknown or rare. The 
sugar maple covers a greater extent of American soil than any 
other species of this genus. It flourishes most in mountainous 
places, where the soil though fertile is cold and humid. Besides 
the parts which we have particularly mentioned, where the face 
of the country is generally of this nature, it is found along the 
w^hole chain of the Alleghanies to their termination in Georgia, 
and on the steep and shady banks of the rivers which rise in 
these mountains. 

The sugar maple reaches the height of 70 or 80 feet with a 
proportional diameter ; but it does not commonly exceed 50 or 
60 feet with a diameter of 12 or 18 inches. Well-grown, thriving 
trees are beautiful in their appearance, and easily distinguishable 
by the whiteness of their bark. The leaves are about five inches 
broad, but they vary in length according to the age and vigor of 
the tree. They are opposite, attached by long petioles, palmated 
or equally divided into five lobes, entire at the edges, of a bright 
green above, and glaucous or whitish underneath. In autumn 
they turn reddish with the first frost. It puts forth small yellowish 
flowers in May, which are suspended by slender, drooping 
peduncles. The seed is contained in two capsules united at 
the base and terminated in a membraneous wing. It is ripe in 
the beginning of October, though the capsules attain their full 
size six weeks earlier. Externally they appear equal, but one 
of them is always empty. The fruit is matured only once in 
two or three years. 

The wood When cut is white, but after being wrought and 
exposed for some time to the light it takes a rosy tinge. Its 
grain is fine and close, and when polished, it has a silky lustre. 
It is very strong and sufficiently heavy, but wants the property 
of durability, for which the oak is highly esteemed. When 
exposed to moisture it soon decays, and for this reason it is not 
much used in civil and naval architecture. In the Eastern States 
where the oak is not plentiful, this timber is substituted for it in 
preference to the beech, the birch and the elm. When perfectly 
seasoned, which requires two or three years, it is used by wheel- 



110 3YLVA AMERICANA. 

Wrights for axletrees and spokes, and for the runners of common 
sleds, and by cabinet and chair makers. The sugar maple 
timber is also sometimes used for the frames of houses, keels 
and lower frames of ships, and many other purposes which do 
not expose it to sudden decay by alternate moistening and drying. 
This wood exhibits two accidental forms in the arrangement of 
the fibre, of which cabinet makers take advantage for making 
beautiful articles of furniture. The first consists in undulations 
like those of the curled maple, the second, which occurs only in 
old trees that are still sound, and which appear to arise from an 
inflection of the fibre from the circumference toward the centre, 
produces spots of half a line in diameter, sometimes contiguous, 
and at other times several lines apart. The more numerous the 
spots, the more beautiful and the more esteemed is the wood : this 
variety is called Birds-eye Maple. Like the curled maple it is 
used for inlaying mahogany. Bedsteads are made of it and 
portable writing desks, which are elegant and highly prized. To 
obtain the finest effect, the log should be sawn in a direction as 
nearly as possible parallel to the concentric circles. When cut 
at the proper season, the sugar maple forms excellent fuel. Its 
ashes are rich in the alkaline principle and more abundant in 
quantity than those obtained from any other tree. The charcoal 
procured from this wood and used in forges and domestic economy, 
is of the most valuable kind ; and that made in Vermont, New 
Hampshire and Maine is one fifth heavier than that from the 
same tree in the more southern states ; a proof that a northern 
climate is adapted to the growth and firmness of this tree. The 
wood of this maple is easily distinguished from that of the red- 
flowering maple, which it resembles in appearance, by its weight 
and hardness. There is, besides, a very simple and certain test : 
a few drops of sulphate of iron being poured on samples of the 
different species, the sugar maple turns greenish, and the white 
maple and red-flowering maple change to a deep blue. 

The sap of the sugar maple furnishes no inconsiderable resource 
for the economy, the comfort, and even the wealth of our 
northern citizens ; especially to those occupying regions newly 
settled. 



DENDROLOGY. Ill 

The method of procuring the sap and forming the sugar, is 
simple, and nearly the same in most places where any is resorted 
to. The common process to collect the sap is to perforate the 
tree with an auger, in two places about four inches apart, 
and eighteen or twenty inches from the ground. It is found that 
a more abundant flow of sap is obtained from a shallow, than a 
deep hole. Into these holes, two tubes are inserted, which from 
the direction given the auger in boring, nearly meet at the outer 
ends. The tubes are made of elder, sumac or other shrubs with 
a large pith, and conduct the sap into small troughs or buckets, 
from whence it is conveyed to the camp, or the place where 
temporary preparations are made for boiling, etc.. These prep- 
arations are Uttle more than a boiler, containing from fifteen to 
fifty gallons, suspended upon a bar supported by crotches, at a 
convenient distance from the ground for building the fire ; moulds 
to receive the sirup when of sufficient consistence to form into 
cakes ; and an axe for preparing the fuel. 

The evaporation is carried on by a constant and brisk boiling 
of the sap, which is frequently replenished as the bulk is dimin- 
ished, until a sirup is formed of sufficient strength to become 
solid as it cools. A scum which is constantly rising to the surface 
during the first part of the process is frequently removed, and 
before the sirup is left to cool and harden, it is strained through 
woollen cloth to separate the remaining impurities. The time 
for stopping the evaporation is determined by rubbing a drop of 
the sirup between the fingers, which will granulate if the process 
has been carried to sufficient length. When the ebullition is so 
violent as to give signs of rising over the sides of the boiler, it is 
quelled by a piece of lard, butter or rind of pork. 

Maple molasses is made by discontinuing the evaporation 
before the liquid is of sufficient consistence to consolidate by 
cooling, and by the drainings from the sirup as h forms into 
sugar. Sugar of the finest character and grain may be formed 
from the sap of the maple, and though the more common kind 
is neitlier very white, nor very delicate, it has a peculiar flavor, 
much admired by those not accustomed to its use. 

The time for collecting the sap is about the last of February, 



112 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

and continues from four to six weeks ; . after which the liquid is 
less abundant and less rich in the saccharine principle, and is 
finally so weak, that it can no longer be reduced to sugar. The 
tree gives the most abundant discharge of its sap, early in the 
season, and in clear pleasant days, preceded by cold frosty 
nights. 

The quantity of sap discharged from a tree of an average size, 
varies in different years and different days. 

Trees are sometimes supposed to average about four pounds of 
sugar, in a season, but frequently do not produce more than half 
that quantity. A single tree discharges in one day from two 
quarts, to two or three gallons of sap. 

The following statement appeared some years since in the 
Greensburgh Pennsylvania Gazette. " Having introduced," 
says the writer, " twenty tubes into a sugar maple, I drew from 
it the same day, twenty-three gallons and three quarts of sap, 
which gave seven pounds and a quarter of sugar. Thirty-three 
pounds have been made this season from the same tree, which 
supposes one hundred gallons of sap." From this statement, it 
appears that but little more than three gallons were required for 
a pound, though four gallons are commonly allowed. 

Maple sugar is made in most of the Northern and Western 
States, and in Canada ; and it has been supposed that New 
York and Pennsylvania contain maples enough to supply the 
consumption of sugar in the whole of the United States. But as 
a country becomes settled, the groves and forests of maple 
disappear, and the expense of converting the sap into sugar is 
increased ; so that the whole country will, within a moderate 
period of time, be supplied with this useful article in domestic 
economy, from foreign importations, or from the juice of the 
cane in our own country. 

Though the ease and abundance with which sugar is made 
from the cane, and the expense of fuel to procure it from the 
sap of the maple would not favor the cultivation of this stately 
and beautiful tree for the supply of our tables, the value of its 
timber, and the elegant and cleanly shade it furnishes, would 
probably render the cultivation of it, especially by the sides of 



DENUKOLOGY. 113 

oui' roads, an article of domestic and political economy, as well 
as a public ornament and comfort. 

Most kinds of domestic animals are excessively fond' of the 
sap of the maple, and frequently break through their inclosures 
to get access to the vessels containing it. 

If the sap be exposed for a few days to a warm sun, it is 
formed into vinegar of a good quality. Maple beer, which is a 
pleasant beverage, is also made from the same material, by the 
addition of yeast and the essence of spruce. 



Striped Maple. Acer striatum. 

In Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, the state of Maine, New 
Hampshire and Vermont, this maple is known by the name of 
J\Ioose Wood: in New Jersey and Pennsylvania it is called 
Striped J\lnple. ' This last denomination, which is preferable, as 
being descriptive, we have thought proper to adopt. It makes 
its first appearance in about latitude 47 degrees, and abounds in 
Nova Scotia, the state of Maine and New Hampshire, where it 
fills the forests. In approaching the Hudson it becomes more 
rare, and beyond this boundaiy, it is confined to the mountainous 
tracts of the Alleghanies, on which it is found, in cold shaded 
exposures, along the whole range to their termination in Georgia. 

In many of the forests of Maine and New Hampshire, the 
striped maple constitutes a great part of the undergrowth ; for its 
ordinary height is less than 10 feet, though it sometimes exceeds 
more than twice this stature. The trunk and branches are clad 
in a smooth, green bark, longitudinally marked with black stripes, 
by which it is easily distinguishable, at all seasons of the year, 
from whence it derives its specific name. It is one of the earliest 
trees whose vegetation announces the approach of the genial 
season. Its buds and leaves, when beginning to unfold, are rose- 
colored, and have a pleasing effect; but this hue soon changes 
to green. On luxuriant trees, the leaves are of a pretty thick 
texture, and finely serrate. They are four or five inches broad, 
rounded at the base, and divided into three deep and acute lobes. 
15 



^ 



114 SYLVA ImERICANA. 

It puts forth greenish flowers in May, which are grouped on long 
pendulous peduncles. The fruit, which in the main resembles 
that of the other maples, is remarkable for a small cavity on one 
side of the capsules : it is produced in abundance, and is ripe 
about the end of September. 

The inferior size of this tree forbids its use in any kind of 
construction ; but as it is white and fine-grained, the cabinet 
makers of Halifax employ it instead of the holly, for forming the 
white lines, with whicH they inlay mahogany. Its principal 
advantage to the inhabitants consists in furnishing them, at the 
close of winter, when their forage is exhausted, a resource for 
sustaining their cattle, till the advancing season has renewed the 
herbage. As soon as the buds begin to swell, the famished 
horses and neat cattle are turned loose into the woods, to browse 
on the young shoots, which they consume with avidity. This 
tree is now cultivated in Europe, and has been grafted on the 
lofty sycamore, where it expands to four times its natural 
dimensions. 

ALNUS. ■ 

MoncEcia Tetrandria. Linn. Amentaceae. Juss. Astringent, 
tonic, emollient. 

Black Alder. Alnus glauca. 

The Black Alder which is unknown in the Southern, and rare 
in the Middle States, is not uncommon in Massachusetts, New 
Hampshire and Vermont ; but even here it is less multiplied 
than the common alder, which abounds throughout the United 
States. It grows in cool, moist places, and upon the margin of 
rivulets. 

The black alder sometimes arrives at the height of 18 or 20 
feet, and about three inches in diameter. The bark of the trunk 
and of the secondary branches is smooth, glossy and of a deep 
brown color sprinkled with white. Its leaves are oval, distinctly 
furrowed on the surface, and doubly denticulated at the edge : 
they are of a pale bluish green and about three inches in length 
and two inches in breadth. It flowers in June and July. 



DENDROLOGY. 115 

The diminutive size of this tree entirely excludes its wood 
from use in the arts. The bark is employed by hatters, for 
dying black. It has also been used in intermittent fevers, dropsies 
and cutaneous diseases. Its bitterness and astringency, however, 
are of an inferior order, and it does not seem entitled to a very 
high rank on the list of tonics. 

Common Alder. Mnus serrulata. 

This species of alder, is found in the Northern, Middle and 
Western States, and is every where designated by the name of 
Common Alder. It frequently grows along the sides of brooks, 
and abounds still more in places covered with stagnant water. 

The ordinary height of the common alder is 8 or 10 feet, and 
about two inches in diameter, though often less. Its leaves are 
of a beautiful green, about two inches long, and are in shape 
similar to those of the black alder. . This shrub blooms in Janu- 
ary : the sexes are separate on the same stock. The barren 
flowers are disposed, like those of the birch, around a common 
axis, in flexible pendulous aments about two inches long. The 
fertile flowers are in the form of small, oval bodies, garnished 
with a dull, red fringe : they are converted into small, scaly cones, 
which open, when arrived at maturity, to release the minute, flat 
seeds. 

The wood of the common alder, when first laid open, is white, 
and it becomes reddish by contact with the air. It is too small 
to be applicable to any use in the arts. With sulphate of iron 
the bark forms a black die for coloring wool, and as it can be 
procured at a very low price, it is extensively substituted for gall 
nuts by hatters and dyers. 



116 



SYI.VA AMERICANA. 



ANDROMEDA. 

Decnndria Monogynia, Linn. Ericeae. Juss. Tonic, asLringcnt, refrigerant. 

SoREL Tree. Andromeda arborea. 

This is the only species of Andromeda which rises to a 
sufficient height to be ranked among forest trees. It begins to 
appear on the Alleghanies in Virginia, and is found to their 
termination in Georgia. It grows also in the Southern States on 
the sleep banks of the rivers that flow from the mountains ; but 
it becomes more rare in following them from their source, 
whether eastward or westward, and ceases entirely in the 
maritime parts of the Carolinas and Georgia. 

It abounds in the fertile valleys at the foot of the lofty 
mountains of North Carolina, where they are found 50 feet in 
height and 12 or 15 inches in diameter. This is an extraordi- 
nary size for a tree of this genus, which is very numerous in the 
Atlantic States, and three-fourths of whose species to the number 
of eight or ten, rarely exceed six feet in height and an inch in 
diameter. The growth of the sorel tree is observed to be stinted 
in dry and gravelly lands, so that it presents itself in the fornx of 
a bush. The leaves are downy in the spring, but they become 
smooth and glabrous in acquiring their growth. They are alternate, 
oval-acuminate, finely denticulated, and from four to five inches 
long. It puts forth small white flowers, from July to September, 
formed into spikes five or six inches long. United in groups 
they have a fine effect, and render this tree very proper for the 
embellishment of gardens. The seeds are exceedingly minute, 
and are contained in small capsules. 

On the trunk of the sorel tree the bark is thick and deeply 
furrowed. The wood is of a pale rose color and very soft. It 
burns with difficulty, and is wholly rejected in the arts. The 
acidity of the leaves has procured it the name of Sorel 
Tree. In drying they become black, and, when sumac is not to 
be obtained, they are used to impart color to wool. 



DENDROLOGY. 117 

ANONA. 

Polyandria Polyginia. Linn. Anonse. Jtjss. Tonic, aperient. 

Pawpaw. Anona triloba. 

This tree is called by the French of upper Louisiana and of 
the two Canadas, Assiminier, and by the Americans, Pawpaw. 
It is seldom found north of the river Schuylkill, and is extremely 
rare in the low, maritime parts of the Southern States. It is not 
uncommon in the bottoms which stretch along the rivers of the 
Middle States ; but it is most abundant in the rich valleys 
intersected by the western waters, where at intervals, it forms 
thickets exclusively occupying several acres. In Kentucky and 
in the western part of Tennessee, it is sometimes seen also in 
forests where the soil is luxuriantly fertile ; of which and its 
presence is an infallible proof. 

It seldom exceeds 30 feet in height and a diameter of six or 
eight inches, though it generally stops short at half this elevation. 
The trunk is covered with a silver-gray bark, which is smooth 
and finely polished. The leaves are borne on short petioles, 
and are alternate, five or six inches in length, and of an elongated 
form, widening from the base to the summit. They are of a 
fine texture, and the superior surface is smooth and brilliant. 
The flowers, which are attached by short peduncles, are pendent, 
and of a purple hue. When the fruit is ripe, which takes place 
towards the beginning of August, it is about three inches long, 
one and a half thick, of a yellowish color, and of an oval form, 
irregular and swelling into inequalities. Its pulp is soft and of 
an insipid taste, and it contains several large, triangular stones. 

The wood is spongy, extremely soft, destitute of strength, and 
applicable to no use in the mechanical arts. A spirituous liquor 
may be distilled from its fruit. The cellular integument of the 
bark, and particularly that of the roots, exhales in summer a 
nauseous odor, so powerful as to occasion sickness if it is long 
respired in open air. 



118 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



BETULA. 



Moncecia Tetrandria. Linn. Amentaceas. Juss. Astringent, tonic, emollient. 

Black Birch. Betula lenta. 

The agreeable foliage of 
this species, and the valuable 
properties of its wood, render 
it the most interesting of the 
American birches. Wher- 
ever it grows in the United 
States, it is known by the 
name of Black Birch : its 
secondary denominations are 
J\Iountam JMahogany in Vir- 
ginia, and Sweet Birch and 
Cherry Birch'm Connecticut, 
Massachusetts, and further 
north. In Canada it is uni- 
versally called Cherry Birch. 
It grows in Nova Scotia, in 
the state of Maine, New 
Hampshire, Vermont, though more rarely than the yellow birch. 
It abounds in the Middle States, particularly in New York, 
Pennsylvania and Maryland ; farther south it is confined to the 
summit of the AUeghanies, on which it is found to their termina- 
tion in Georgia, and to the steep and shady banks of the rivers 
which issue from these mountains. . It flourishes best in a deep, 
loose and cool soil. 

When it has attained its greatest expansion, it often exceeds 
70 feet in height, and two or three feet in diameter. The bark 
upon the trunk of trees less than eight inches in diameter, is 
smooth, grayish, and perfectly similar in its color and organization 
to that of the cherry tree. On old trees, the epidermis detaches 
itself transversely, at intervals, in hard, ligneous plates, six or 
eight inches broad. At the close of winter the leaves, during a 




PLATE XI. 
Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. A fertile ament. 



DENDROLOGY. 119 

fortnight after their birth, are covered with a thick, silvery down, 
which disappears soon after. The leaves are about two inches 
long, serrate, cordiform at the base, acuminate at the summit, of 
a pleasing tint and fine texture, and not unlike the leaves of the 
cherry tree. The young shoots are brown, smooth, and dotted 
with white, as also are the leaves. The barren flowers of the 
black birch are disposed in flexible aments about four inches 
long. The fertile aments, which are commonly situated at the 
extremity of the young branches, are ten or twelve lines long, 
and five or six lines in diameter, straight, cylindrical, and nearly 
sessile at the season of maturity of the seed, which is about the 
first of November. 

The wood of the black birch, when freshly cut, is of a rosy 
hue, which deepens by exposure to the light. Its grain is fine 
and close, whence it is susceptible of a briUiant polish; it 
possesses also a considerable share of strength. The union of 
these properties renders it superior to the other species of 
American birch ; and in Massachusetts, Connecticut and New 
York, it is next in esteem to the wild cherry tree among cabinet 
makers. Tables and bedsteads of this wood, when carefully 
preserved, acquire with time the appearance of mahogany, hence 
it is employed for the frames of arm-chairs, and of sofas : the 
coach makers also use it for the frames of their panels. Shoe 
lasts are made of black birch, but they are less esteemed than 
those of beech. Such are the principal uses of the wood, from 
which it may easily be gathered to what subsidiary purposes it is 
applicable. The leaves and bark, when bruised, diffuse a very 
sweet odor, and as they retain this property when dried and 
carefully preserved, they afford an agreeable infusion, with the 
addition of a little sugar and cream. 



120 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



Yellow Birch. Betula lutea. 




Fig. 1. 



PLATE Xir. 

A leaf. Fig. 2. A fertile ament. 



This species of birch 
abounds in the forests of 
Nova Scotia, of New Bruns- 
wick, in the state of Maine, 
New Hampshire and Ver- 
mont, where it is designated 
by no other name than 
Yellow Birch. On tlie wes- 
tern bank of the Hudson it 
is rare ; and in New Jersey 
and Pennsylvania only a few 
individuals of the species are 
met with, in moist and shady 
situations. It is confounded 
by the inhabitants of these 
States with the black birch, 
which is very abundant, and 
to which it bears a striking resemblance. It is generally found 
on cool and rich soils among the ashes, the hemlock spruce, 
and the black spruce. 

When it arrives at its greatest magnitude, it is more than 
70 feet in height and two feet in diameter. It is a beautiful tree, 
and its trunk is of nearly an uniform diameter, straight, and 
destitute of branches for 30 or 40 feet. It is particularly re- 
markable for the color and arrangement of its epidermis, which 
is of a brilliant golden yellow, and which frequently divides itself 
into very fine strips, rolled backwards at the ends, and attached - 
in the middle. The young shoots, and the leaves at their 
unfolding are downy ; towards the middle of summer when fully 
expanded, the leaves are perfectly smooth, except the petiole, 
which remains covered with a fine, short hair : they are about 
three and a half inches long, one and a half broad, oval-acuminate, 
and bordered with sharp and irregular teeth. The leaves, the 
bark and the young shoots, have an agreeable taste and smell. 



DENDROLOGY. 



121 



similar to those of the black birch, though less sensible, which 
they lose in drying. In its fructification, the yellow birch nearly 
resembles the black birch. The fertile aments are borne on 
short peduncles, and are twelve or fifteen lines long, five or six 
lines in diameter, straight, of an oval shape, and nearly cylindrical. 
The scales which compose them are trifid, pointed, and about 
three lines in length : viewed through the lens, they are seen to 
be downy. Beneath these scales are the small, winged seeds, 
which are ripe about the first of October. 

The wood of the yellow birch is inferior in quality and in 
appearance to that of the black birch, and never assumes as deep 
a shade ; but it is strong, and when well polished makes handsome 
furniture. In Nova Scotia and in the state of Maine, it is used 
for that part of the frame of vessels which remains always in the 
water. In Maine it is also used for the yokes of cattle and for 
the frames of sledges ; and in Nova Scotia the young saplings 
are almost exclusively employed for the hoops of casks. The 
bark is highly esteemed in tanning j and its wood is considered 
an excellent combustible. 



Canoe Birch. 




PLATE XIU. 
I, A leaf. Fig. 3- A fertile ament 

16 



Betula papyracea. 

By the French Canadians 
this tree is called Bouleau 
Blanc, White Birch, and 
Bouleau a Canot, Canoe 
Birch : it is known to the 
Americans also by these 
denominations, and some- 
times by that oi Paper Birch. 
The name of Canoe Birch 
appears to be the most 
proper, as it indicates an 
important use which is made 
of its bark. The canoe 
birch is most multiplied in 
the forests in the country 
lying north of the 43d degree 



122 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

of latitude, and between the 75th degree of west longitude and 
the Atlantic ocean 5 comprising Lower Canada, New Brunswick, 
the state of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. It ceases 
below the 43d degree of latitude, and is not found in the southern 
part of Connecticut, nor below Albany, in the state of New York. 
The soil in which this species of birch best flourishes, is fertile 
and principally covered with large stones, overgrown with moss. 

The canoe birch attains its largest size, which is about 70 feet 
in height and three feet in diameter, on the declivity of hills and 
in the bottom of fertile valleys. Its branches are slender, flexible, 
and covered with a shining, brown bark, dotted with white. 
The leaves are borne by petioles four or five lines long, and are 
of a middling size, oval, unequally denticulated, smooth, and of 
a dark green color. The aments are pendulous, and about an 
inch in length : the seeds are ripe towards the middle of July. 

The heart or perfect wood of this tree, when first laid open, 
is of a reddish hue, and the sap is perfectly white. It has a fine, 
glossy grain, with a considerable share of strength : that it is but 
little employed is attributed partly to its speedy decay when 
exposed to the succession of dryness and moisture, and partly to 
the existence, in the countries which produce it, of several species 
of wood, which are far preferable for the uses of the carpenter 
and the wheelwright. It is sometimes employed by cabinet 
makers for tables which are stained in imitation of mahogany. 
A section of the trunk of this tree, one or two feet in length, 
immediately below the first ramification, exhibits very elegant 
undulations of the fibre, representing bunches of feathers or 
sheaves of corn : these pieces are divided into thin plates for 
inlaying mahogany, and other embellishments in cabinet making. 
The wood aftbrds excellent fuel. On trees not exceeding eight 
inches in diameter, the bark is of a brilliant white. This bark is 
devoted to many uses : in the newly-settled parts of the countries 
where it grows, the people place large pieces of it immediately 
below the shingles of the roof of their houses ; baskets, boxes, 
port folios, etc. are also made of it ; divided into very thin 
sheets, it forms a substitute for paper. But the most important 
purpose to which it is applied, and one in which it is replaced by 



DENDROLOGY. 123 

the bark of no other tree, is the construction of canoes. To 
procure proper pieces, the largest and smoothest trunks are 
selected : in the spring two circular incisions are made several 
feet apart, and two longitudinal ones on opposite sides of the 
tree ; after which, by introducing a wooden wedge, the bark is 
easily detached. These plates are usually ten or twelve feet 
long, and two feet nine inches broad. To form the canoe they 
are stitched together with fibrous roots of the white spruce, about 
the size of a quill, which are deprived of the bark, split, and 
suppled in water. The seams are coated with resin of the 
balm of Gilead. Great use is made of these canoes by the 
Indians and by the French Canadians in their long journies into 
the interior of the country ; they are very light, and are easily 
transported on the shoulders from one lake or river to another, 
which is called the portage. A canoe calculated for four persons 
with their baggage weighs from forty to fifty pounds ; some of 
them are made to carry fifteen passengers. Such are the 
ordinary uses of the bark and of the wood of this tree. 



White Birch. Betida populifolia. 

This species, like the canoe birch, grows in Canada and in 
the northern extremity of the United States. It is found also in 
the lower parts of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. 
In Virginia it is more rare. In the environs of New York and of 
Philadelphia it is called White Birch, and this name is habitually 
used in the state of Maine, where that of Old Field Birch is 
also frequently employed to distinguish the whhe birch from the 
canoe birch. The white birch is most frequently found in places 
scantily furnished with woods, where the soil is dry and meagre, 
and generally exhausted by culture. 

The ordinary height of the white birch is 20 or 25 feet. 
Single trees, which grow accidentally in moist places, expand to 
an ampler size, and are sometimes 30 or 35 feet high, and eight 
or nine inches in diameter, on which the branches are 
numerous, slender, and generally drooping. The leaves are 



124 



STLVA AMERICANA. 



smooth on both surfaces, heart-shaped at the base, very acuminate, 
•#. and doubly and irregularly toothed. The petioles are slightly- 
twisted, and the leaves are thus rendered more tremulous than 
those of trees on which this disposition is not observed. The 
buds, a few days after their developement, are slightly coated 
with a yellowish, odoriferous substance. The trunk of this 
species is covered with a white, but most generally light gray 
bark resembling the canoe birch ; but its epidermis, on being 
separated from the cellular integument, is incapable of being 
divided like that of the preceding species, into thin sheets. It 
flowers in July. 

The wood of this birch is very soft, brilliant when polished, 
and perfectly white. From its speedy decay, and from the 
inferior size of the tree it is employed for no use as timber. It 
makes very good fuel when green, and the charcoal produced 
from it is superior to that of white maple. 



Red Birch. Beinia rubra. 




PLATE 
Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 



XIV. 
2. A barren anient. 



In Pennsylvania and New 
Jersey the name of Red 
Birch is given to the Betula 
rubra, to distinguish it from 
the white birch ; but farther 
south, where the white birch 
does not exist, or is compar- 
atively rare, this species is 
simply called Birch. The 
northern part of New Jersey 
may be assumed as the most 
northern point at which this 
species of birch is found. 
It is abundant in Pennsylva- 
nia, Maryland, Virginia and 
the upper part of the Caro- 



linas and Georgia. 



This 



birch is not, like the other species of this genus, seen growing in 



DENDROLOGY. 125 

the midst of the forest, but is found only on the banks of rivers. 
It expands with the greatest luxuriance on the sides of limpid 
streams which have a gravelly bed, and whose banks are not 
marshy like those of the rivers in the maritime parts of the 
Carolinas and those of Georgia. 

When it has attained its greatest magnitude it is 70 feet in 
height, and two or three feet in diameter. On the trunk and ou 
the largest limbs of a lofty red birch, the bark is thick, deeply 
furrowed, and of a greenish color. On trees not exceeding 
eight or ten inches in diameter, the epidermis is reddish or 
cinnamon-colored ; whence probably is derived the appropriate 
denomination of Red Birch. The epidermis of this species, 
like that of the canoe birch, divides itself transversally into thin, 
transparent sheets, which appear to be composed of a mixed 
substance, instead of presenting a pure, homogeneous texture • 
hence they have not an uniform transparency, nor a perfectly 
even surface : compared with the bark of the canoe birch, they 
are like coarse paper compared witK fine. When this tree is 
fully expanded, its summit is ample, but the uncommon thickness 
of its branches prevents it from appearing tufted. The twigs 
which form the extremity of the tree, are long, flexible and 
pendulous, and the limbs are of a brown complexion spotted with 
white : their bark is slightly uneven, while, on the other branches 
it is smooth and glossy. The petioles of this tree are short and 
downy ; the leaves are about three inches long and two inches 
broad, of a light green on the upper surface, and whitish beneath : 
they are doubly denticulated at the edge, very acuminate at the 
summit, and terminated at the base in an acute angle, more 
regular than is seen in the leaf of any other tree. The fertile 
aments are five or six inches long, straight and nearly cylindrical. 
The seeds are ripe in the beginning of June. 

The wood of the red birch is sufficiently compact and nearly 
white : very little difference in color is observed between the sap 
and heart. This wood offers the same singularity with that of 
the June berry, being longitudinally marked by red vessels, 
which intersect each other in different directions. This wood 
is employed for bowls, trays and brooms : it is also employed 



126 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



for hoops, particularly for rice casks where the oak and hickory 
cannot be obtained. 



BIGNONIA. 



Didynamia Angiospermia. Linn. Bignoniae. Juss. Cathartic, narcotic. 

Cat ALP A. Bignonia catalpa. 

In fthe Atlantic States, 
the Catalpa begins tobe found 
in the forests, on the banks 
of the river Savannah, and 
west of the AUeghanies, on 
those of the Cumberland, 
between the 35th and 36th 
degrees of latitude. Farther 
south it is more common, 
and abounds near the bor- 
ders of all the rivers which 
empty into the Mississippi, 
or which water West Florida. 
In the Carolinas and in 
Georgia the catalpa is called 
Catawhaw Tree, from a tribe 
of Indians by that name who 
inhabited that part of the country. The French of Upper 
Louisiana call it Bois Shavanon, from the Shavanon tribe of 
Indians who once existed in West Tennessee. 

In the regions where it grows most abundantly it frequently 
exceeds 50 feet in height, with a diameter from 18 to 24 inches. 
It is easily recognized by its bark, which is of a silver-gray color, 
and but slightly furrowed, by its ample leaves, and by its wide 
spreading summit, disproportioned in size to the diameter of its 
trunk. It differs from other trees also by the fewness of its 
branches. The leaves are heart-shaped, petiolated, often six or 
seven inches in width, glabrous above and downy beneath, 




PLATE XV. 
Fig. L A leaf. Fig. 2. A seed. 



DENDROLOGY. 127 

particularly on the principal ribs ; they are late in venturing out 
in the spring, and are among the first to shrink at the approach 
of autumn. The flowers which are collected in large bunches 
at the extremity of the branches, are white, with violet and 
yellow spots, and are beautiful and showy. The capsules are 
cylindrical and pendent, of a brown color when ripe, three or 
four lines in diameter and twelve or fifteen inches in length. 
The seeds are thin, flat and developed in a long, narrow, 
membraneous wing terminated by a hairy tuft. Each seed, with 
its wing, is about an inch long, and a line and a half broad. 

That the catalpa is a tree of rapid growth is proved by the 
distance of the annual concentric circles. Its wood is of a 
grayish white color, of a fine texture, very light, and very 
brilliant when polished. It resembles the butternut wood, with 
this exception, that the buttei-nut wood is of a reddish hue, and 
is less durable when exposed to the weather. Posts of the 
catalpa perfectly seasoned have been proved to be very durable. 
In the spring, if a bit of the cellular integument of the catalpa 
bark is removed, a venomous and offensive odor is exhaled. In 
a thesis supported at the Medical College of Philadelphia, this 
bark is maintained to be tonic, stimulant, and more powerfully 
antiseptic than the Peruvian bark. It is stated that the honey 
collected from the flowers of this tree is poisonous, and that its 
effects, though less alarming, are analogous to those of honey of 
the yellow jasmine. Its bark is considered to be a good antidote 
for the bite of snakes, the machineel poison, etc. 

CARPINUS. 

Moncecia Polyandria. Linn. Amentaceae. Juss. Astringent, tonic, emollient. 
American Hornbeam. Carpinus Americana. 

The American Hornbeam is found as far north as Nova Scotia, 
New Brunswick and Lower Canada ; but it is repressed by the 
severity of the climate, and is less multiplied than in New Jersey, 
Pennsylvania and the Southern States. By the Americans it is 
called Hornbeam, and by the French of tipper Louisiana Charme. 



128 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



It prospers in almost every soil and exposure, except in places 
that are too long inundated, or that are absolutely sterile. 

The ordinary stature of this tree is from 12 to 15 feet, and it 
is sometimes 25 or 30 feet high and six inches in diameter. Its 
leaves are oval-acuminate and finely denticulated. The sexes 
are united on the same stock, and the fertile flowers are collected 
in long, loose, pendulous, leafy aments at the extremity of the 
branches. The scales or leaves which surround them are 
furnished at the base with a hard, oval seed. It flowers in May 
or June. The fructification is always abundant, and the aments 
remain attached to the tree long after the foliage is shed. The 
bark of the trunk is smooth and spotted with white. 

The wood is white and exceedingly compact and fine-grained. 
The dimensions of the tree are so small as to render it almost 
useless even for fuel, but it is employed for hoops when better 
species cannot be obtained. 



Iron Wood. Carpinus ostrya- 

East of the Mississippi 
the Iron Wood is diffused 
throughout the United States 
and New Brunswick, Nova 
Scotia and Lower Canada. 
In New York, New Jersey, 
Pennsylvania and the South- 
ern States, where it is the 
most abundant, it bears the 
name of Iron Wood; in 
Vermont, New Hampshire 
and Maine, it is called Lever 
Wood ; and by the French 
of Illinois, Bois dur, hard 
wood. Though this wood 
is multiplied in the forests, 
it nowhere constitutes masses 

even of inconsiderable extent, but is loosely disseminated, and 

found only in cool, fertile, shaded situations. 




PLATE XVI. 
Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. Tiie fruit. 



DENDROLOGY. 129 

It seldom arrives to more than 35 or 40 feet in height and 12 
or 1 5 inches in diameter, and commonly not exceeding half these 
dimensions. In the . winter this tree is recognized by a smooth, 
grayish bark, finely divided, and detached in strips not more 
than a line in breadth. The leaves are alternate, oval-acuminate, 
and finely and unequally denticulated. The fertile and barren 
flowers are borne at the extremity of different branches of the 
same tree, and the fruit is in clusters like hops. The small, 
hard, triangular seed is contained in a species of reddish, oval, 
inflated bladder, covered at the age of maturity with a fine down, 
which causes a violent irritation of the skin if carelessly handled. 

The wood is perfectly white, compact, fine-grained and heavy. 
The concentric circles are closely compressed, and their number 
in a trunk of only four or five inches in diameter evinces the 
length of time necessary to acquire this inconsiderable size. To 
its inferior dimensions must be ascribed the limited use of the 
tree, the superior properties of whose wood are attested by its 
name. In New England the iron wood is used for levers, 
brooms and scrubbing brushes. Though its uses are unimportant, 
they might probably be more diversified ; it is well adapted for 
mill cogs, mallets, etc. 



17 



130 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



CASTANEA. 



Monoecia Polyandria. Linn. AmentacesB. Juss. '.^stringent, tonic, emollient. 



Chinq,uapin. Castanea pumila. 

The Chinquapin is bound- 
ed northward by the eastern 
shore of the river Delaware, 
on which it is found to the 
distance of a hundred miles 
from Cape May. It is more 
common in Maryland, and 
still more so in the lower 
part of Virginia, of the 
Carolinas, Georgia, the Flor- 
idas and Louisiana, as far 
as the river Arkansas. In 
West Tennessee it is mul- 
tiphed around the prairies 
inclosed in the forests, and 
it abounds throughout the 
Southern States where the 
chesnut is wanting. In the south of the United States the 
chinquapin fructifies on the most arid lands : its perfect devel- 
opement requires a cool and fertile soil. As it springs every 
where with facility, except in places liable to be covered with 
water, it is among the most common shrubs. 

This tree sometimes grows to the height of 30 or 40 feet 
and 12 or 15 inches in diameter, although its usual height is 10 
or 12 feet. The leaves are three or four inches long, sharply 
toothed, and similar in form to those of the American chesnut, 
from which they are distinguished by their inferior size, and by 
the whitish complexion of their lower surface. The fructification, 
also, resembles that of the chesnut in form and arrangement, but 
the flowers and fruit are only half as large, and the nut is convex 
on both sides and about the size of the wild hazel nut. 




Fig. 1. A leaf. 



PLATE XVI [. 
Fig. 2. Tlie fruit. 



Fis. 3. A nut. 



DENDROLOGY. 



131 



The wood of this species is finer-grained, more compact, 
heavier, and perhaps more durable than tliat of the chesnut. It 
is well fitted for posts, and lasts in the earth more than forty 
years. The saplings of this species are laden with branches 
while they are no thicker than the finger, and are thus rendered 
too knotty for hoops. Its bark is astringent and tonic, and has 
been used with success in intermittents. 



American Chesnut. Castanea vesca. 

The Chesnut does not 
venture beyond the 44th 
degree of latitude. It is 
found in New Hampshire 
between the 43d and 44th 
degrees, but such is the 
severity of the winter that it 
is less common than in 
Connecticut, New Jersey 
and Pennsylvania. It is the 
most multiplied in the moun- 
tainous districts of the Caro- 
linas and of Georgia, and 
abounds on the Cumberland 
Mountains and in East Ten- 
nessee. The coolness of 
the summer and the mildness 
of the winter in tliese regions are favorable to the chesnut ; the 
face of the country, also, is perfectly adapted to a tree which 
prefers the sides of mountains or their immediate vicinity, where 
the soil in general is gravelly, though deep enough to sustain its 
perfect developement. ,It is a stranger in Vermont, the state of 
Maine, and a great part of Genesee, to the maritime parts of 
Virginia, to the Carolinas, Georgia, the Floridaig and Louisiana 
as far as the mouth of the Ohio. 

The American chesnut sometimes attains the height of 70 or 
80 feet with a circumference of 15 or 16 feet. Though this 




Fig. 1. A leaf. 



PLATE XVIII. 
Fi". 2. Tlie fruit. 



3. A nut. 



132 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

tree nearly resembles that of Europe in its general appearance, 
its foliage, its fruit and the properties of its wood, it is treated by 
botanists as a distinct species. Its leaves are six or seven inches 
long, one and a half broad, coarsely toothed, of an elongated 
oval form, of a fine, brilliant color and of a firm texture, with 
prominent parallel nerves beneath. The barren flowers are 
whitish, unpleasant to smell, and grouped on axillary peduncles 
four or five inches long. The fertile aments are similarly 
disposed, but less conspicuous. It flowers in June. The fruit is 
spherical, covered with fine prickles, and stored with two dark 
brown seeds or nuts, about as large as the end of the finger, 
convex on one side, flattened on the other, and coated round the 
extremity with whitish brown. They are smaller and sweeter 
than the wild chesnuts of Europe. They are ripe about the 
middle of October. 

The wood is strong, elastic and capable of enduring the 
succession of dryness and moisture. Its durability renders it 
especially valuable for posts, which should be made of trees less 
than ten inches in diameter, and charred before they are set in 
the earth. It is also used for rails, and is said to last more than 
fifty years. For shingles this wood is superior to any species of 
oak, though it has the same defect of warping. It is not exten- 
sively used for staves, and its pores, like those of the red oak, 
are so open that it is proper only for dry wares. The chesnut 
is little esteemed for fuel and is not much used : it is filled with 
air and snaps when it burns. The coal is excellent. 



Iff 



DENDROLOGY. 



133 



CELTIS. 



v# 



Polygamia Monoccia. Linn. Urticcte, Juss. Toiilr, anodyne. . 

Hack Berry. Celtis crassifolia. 

The banks of the Dela- 
ware above Philadelphia 
may be considered as the 
north-east limit of the hack 
berry. East of the moun- 
tains it is restricted within 
narrow boundaries, and is a 
stranger to the lower part 
of Virginia and to the more 
southern states. It is 
abundant on the banks of 
the Susquehannah and of 
the Potomac. It is profusely 
multiplied, in the Western 
Country in all the valleys 
that stretch along the rivers, 
and wherever the soil is 
fertile throughout Kentucky and Tennessee. On the Ohio it is 
called Hooj} Ash, and in Kentucky, Hack Berry. 

It attains the summit of 70 or 80 feet with a disproportionate 
diameter of 18 or 20 inches. In rich soils the luxuriance of its 
vegetation is shown by sprouts, C or 10 feet in length, garnished 
on each side with large, substantial leaves. The hack berry is 
easily distinguished by the form of its trunk, which is straight 
and undivided to a great height, ?ind by its bark, which is grayish, 
unbroken and covered with asperities unequally distributed over 
its surface. Its leaves are larger than those of an.y other species 
of nettle tree, being six inches long and three or fouf broad. 
They are oval-acuminate, denticulated, cordiform at the base, of 
a thick, substantial texture and of a rude surface. It puts forth 
flowers in May which are small, white and often united in pairs 

■5* 




Pu 



PLATE XIX. 
1. A leaf. Fig. 2. 



The fruit. 



134 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



on a common peduncle. The fruit is round, about as large as a 
pea and black at its maturity. 

The wood is fine-grained and compact, but not heavy, and 
when freshly exposed it is perfectly white: sawn in a direction 
parallel or oblique to its concentric circles it exhibits the fine 
undulations that are observed in the elm and locust. On laying 
open the sap of this tree in the spring it changes in a few minutes 
from pure white to green. This wood is little appreciated on 
account of its weakness and its speedy decay when exposed to 
the weather. It is rejected by wheelwrights, but is sometimes 
employed in building for the covering which supports the shingles. 
As it is elastic and easily divided it is used for the bottom of 
common chairs, and by the Indians for baskets. On the banks 
of the Ohio it is frequently taken for the rails of rural fence, 
and is wrought with the greatest ease, as it is straight-grained 
and free from knots : it is said also to afford excellent charcoal. 



American Nettle Tree. Celtis occidentalis. 

The American Nettle 
Tree, if not rare, is little multi- 
plied in comparison with the 
oaks, the walnuts and the ma- 
ples. As it is scattered singly 
through the forest, it is diffi- 
cult to fix the point ^t which 
it ceases towards the north, 
but it probably is not found 
beyond the river Connecti- 
cut. In the Middle, Western 
and Southern States it bears , 
the name which we have 
adopted, and among the 
French of Illinois, that of 
Bois inconnu, unknown 
wood. It prefers a cool 
and shady situation, with a deep aud fertile soil. 




Fig. 1. 



PLATE XX. 

A leaf. Fig 2. 



The fruit. 



DENDROLOGY. 135 

The American nettle tree grows to the height of GO or 70 
feet with a diameter of 18 or 20 inches. Its branches are 
numerous and slender, and the limbs take their rise at a small 
distance from the ground, and seek a horizontal or an inclined 
direction. The bark is rough and entire upon the trunk, and 
smooth and even on the secondary branches. The leaves are 
alternate, about three inches long, of a dark green color, oval- 
oblique at the base, very acuminate at the summit, denticulated, 
and somewhat rough. The flowers open in April or May, and 
are small, white, single and axillary : the fruit, also, is small and 
single, of a round form, and of a dull red color. 

When perfectly seasoned, the wood is of a dark brown color, 
hard, compact, supple and tenacious : it makes excellent hoops, 
whip stocks, is used by wheelwrights for shafts and for other 
purposes, and is proper for sculpture. 

CERASUS. 

Icosandria Monogynia. Linn. Rosaceae. Juss. Refrigerant, tonic, 
astringent. 

Red Cherry Tree. Cerasiis horealis. 

The Red Cherry Tree is common only in the Northern States 
and in Canada, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. It is rarely 
met with in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and is wholly 
unknown in the Southern States. In the state of Maine and 
Vermont, it is called Small Cherry and ,Red Cherry, the last of 
which we have adopted. It flourishes best in a common soil, in 
cleared grounds, and in such parts of the forests as have been 
burnt. 

The size of the red cherry tree places it among trees of the 
third order : it rarely exceeds, and often does not equal, 25 or 
30 feet in height and six or eight inches in diameter. The trunk 
is covered with a smooth, brown bark, which detaches itself 
laterally. Its leaves are five or six inches long, oval, denticulated 
and very acuminate. Its flowers put forth in May or June, 
and are collected in small, white bunches, and give birth to a red 



136 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

fruit of an inconsiderable size, which is ripe in the month of 
July. This fruit is intensely acid, and is not abundant even on 
the largest trees. 

The wood is fine-grained and of a reddish hue 5 but the 
inferior size of the tree forbids its use in the mechanic arts. 



Wild Orange Tree. Cerasus CaroUniana. 

This beautiful species of cherry tree is found on the Bahama 
Isles, and on the continent of North America it appears to be nearly 
confined to the islands on the coast of the Carolinas, of Georgia 
and of the Floridas. Except the margin of the sea, it is rarely 
found on the main land, even at the distance of eight or ten; 
miles from the shore, where the temperature is five or six degrees 
colder in the winter, and proportionably milder in the summer. 
It flourishes best on a common garden soil. 

The wild orange grows to the height of 20 or 30 feet, and 
ramifies at a small height, and forms a spacious and tufted summit, 
which is owing, perhaps, to its growing upon open grounds instead 
of being compressed in the forest, and forced to shoot upwards 
in order to enjoy the light. The bark of the trunk is of a dun 
complexion, and is commonly without cracks. Its leaves are 
oval-acuminate, evergreen, smooth and shining on the upper 
surface, and about three inches in length. Its flowers open in 
May, are numerous, white and arranged in little bunches an inch 
or an inch and a half long, which spring at the base of the leaf. 
The fruit is small, oval, and nearly black : it consists of a soft 
stone surrounded with a small quantity of green pulpy substance, 
which is not eatible. This fruit persists through a great part of 
the following year, so that in the spring the tree is laden at the 
same time with fruit and flowers. This tree may be considered as 
one of the most beautiful vegetable productions of this part of 
the United States, and it is selected with the more reason by the 
inhabitants to plant about their houses, as it grows with rapidity 
and affords an impenetrable shade. 

The perfect wood is rose-colored and very fine-grained j but 
as this species is not extensively multiplied it is not much used : 



DENDROLOGY. 



137 



there is the less occasion for it as other wood, in no respect 
inferior, is procured with facility. In the bark of the roots there 
is a strong odor resembling that of the wild cherry stone, from 
which a fragrant, spirituous liquor may be obtained. 



Wild Cherry Tree. Cerasus Virginiana. 

The Wild Cherry Tree is 
one of the largest productions 
of the American forest. In 
the Atlantic as well as the 
Western States, this tree is 
known only by the name 
which we have adopted. It 
is more or less abundant as 
the soil and climate are more 
or less favorable to its growth, 
to which the extremes of 
heat and cold in the seasons, 
and of dryness and humidity 
in the soil, are alike unpro- 
pitious. It abounds in Illi- 
nois, in Genessee and in 
Upper Canada ; but it is no 
where more profusely multiplied nor more fully developed than 
beyond the mountains in the state of Ohio, Kentucky and 
Tennessee. 

In the state of Maine, where the winter is long and intense, it 
hardly exceeds 30 or 40 feet in height, and from 8 to 12 inches 
in diameter 5 in the southern and maritime parts of the Carolinas 
and of Georgia, where the summer is intemperately hot and where 
the soil is generally arid and sandy, it is rarely seen, and on the 
banks of rivers where the ground is too wet, its dimensions are 
stinted ; but in the upper parts of these states, where the climate 
is milder and the soil more fertile, it is sufficiently common, 
though less multiplied than in Virginia and Pennsylvania. 
18 




PLATE XXI. 
Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. The fruit. 



138 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

On the banks of the Ohio, this tree grows to the stature of 80 
to 100 feet with a circumference of 12 to 16 feet, with a trunk 
of an uniform size and undivided to the height of 25 or 30 feet. 
Its bark is so pecuhar'as to render it distinguishable at first sight, 
when from its height the form of its leaves cannot be discerned. 
The trunk is regularly shaped, but the bark is blackish and rough, 
and detaches itself semi-circularly in thick, narrow plates, which 
are renewed after a considerable lapse of time. The leaves are 
5 or 6 inches long, oval-acuminate, denticulated, of a beautiful 
brilHant green, and furnished at the base with two reddish glands. 
It puts forth white flowers in May or June, collected in spikes 
which have a beautiful effect. The fruit is about the size of a 
pea, disposed in the same manner as the flowers, and nearly 
black at its maturity, which is in August or September ; soon 
after which, notwithstanding its bitterness, it is devoured by the 
birds. 

The perfect wood is of a dull, light-red tint, which deepens 
with age. It is compact, fine-grained and brilliant, and not 
liable to warp when perfectly seasoned. It is extensively 
employed by cabinet makers for every species of furniture ; and 
when chosen near the ramification of the trunk it rivals mahogany 
in beauty. This wood is generally preferred to the black walnut, 
whose dun complexion with time becomes nearly black. On 
the banks of the Ohio it is employed in ship building, and the 
French of Illinois use it for the felloes of wheels. The fruit is 
employed to make a cordial, by infusion in rum or brandy, with 
the addition of a certain quantity of sugar. The bark of this tree 
is bitter and aromatic, its taste being strong, penetrating and not 
disagreeable. It is undoubtedly a useful tonic, and appears to 
possess, in some degree, a narcotic and antispasmodic property. 
The latter quality is strongest in the recent state, and in the 
distilled water. The powdered bark may be given in doses of 
from 10 to 15 grains. This tree probably contains prussic acid. 



DENDROLOGY. 



139 




CHAMJEROPS. 

Polygamia Dicecia. Linn. Palmse. Juss. Weak tonic, farinaceous. 

Cabbage Tree. Chamcerops palmetto. 

From its lofty height, this 
vegetable is considered in 
the United States as a tree ; 
and upon the shores of the 
ocean, where it grows, it is 
called Cabbage Tree. Its 
northern limit is near Cape 
Hatteras, from which it 
spreads to the extremity of 
East Florida, and probably 
encircles the Gulf of Mexico. 
Farther south this tree is 
not confined, as in the United 
States, to the immediate 
vicinity of the sea. 

A trunk from 40 to 50 
feet in height, of an uniform 
diameter, and crowned with a regular and tufted summit, gives 
the cabbage tree a beautiful and majestic appearance. Its leaves 
are of a brilliant green, palmated, and borne by petioles from 18 
to 20 inches long, nearly triangular and united at the edges ; they 
vary in length and breadth from one to five feet, and are so 
arranged that the smallest occupy the centre of the summit, and 
the largest the circumference. Before their developement they 
are folded like a fan, and as they open, the outside sticks break 
off and fall, leaving the base surrounded with filaments woven 
into a coarse and flimsy russet web. The base of the undisclosed 
bundle of leaves is white, compact and tender. It puts forth in 
March long clusters of small greenish flowers, which are 
succeeded by a black, inesculent fruit, about the size of a pea. 
In the Southern States the wood of this tree, though extremely 
porous, is preferred to every other for wharves ; its superiority 



PLATE XXII. 
The top of a cabbage tree with its fruit. 



140 STLVA AMERICANA. 

consists in being secure from injury by sea worms, which, during 

the summer, commit such ravages in structures accessible to their 

attacks ; but when exposed to be ahernately wet and dry in the 

flowing and ebbing of the tide, it decays as speedily as other 

wood. This use of the cabbage tree is rapidly diminishing its 

numbers, and probably the period is not far distant when it will 

cease to exist within the boundaries of the United States. This 

wood is found eminently proper for constructing forts, as it closes 

without splitting on the passage of the ball. The base of the 

leaves, when tender, is eaten with oil and vinegar, and resembles 

the artichoke and the cabbage in taste, whence is derived the 

name of Cabbage Tree. But to destroy a vegetable which has 

been a century in growing, to obtain three or four ounces of a 

substance neither richly nutritious nor peculiarly agreeable to the 

palate, would be pardonable only in a desert which was destined 

to remain uninhabited for ages. With similar prodigality of the 

works of nature, the first settlers of Kentucky killed the buffalo, 

an animal weighing twelve or fifteen hundred pounds, for the 

pleasure of eating its tongue, and abandoned the carcase to the 

beasts of the wilderness. 



DENDROLOGY. 



141 



CORNUS. 



Tetrandria Monogynia. LiNPf. Caprifolise. Juss. Tonic, cathartic. 
Dogwood. Corniis fiorida. 

The Dogwood is first seen 
in Massachusetts and New 
Hampshire, between the 42d 
and 43d degrees of latitude, 
and in proceeding southward, 
it is met with uninterruptedly 
throughout the Eastern and 
Western States, and the 
Floridas, to the banks of the 
Mississippi. Over this vast 
extent of country, it is one 
of the most common trees, 
and it abounds particularly 
in New Jersey, Pennsylva- 
nia, Maryland and Virginia, 
wherever the soil is moist, 
gravelly and somewhatunea- 
ven ; farther south, in the CaroHnas, Georgia and the Floridas, it 
is found only on the borders of swamps. In the most fertile 
districts of Kentucky and West Tennessee it does not appear in 
the forests except where the soil is gravelly and of a midling 
quality. In the United States at large, it is known by the name 
of Dogwood, and in Connecticut it is also called Box Wood. 

The dogwood sometimes reaches 30 or 35 feet in height, and 
9 or 10 mches in diameter ; but it does not generally exceed the 
height of 18 or 20 feet, and the diameter of 4 or 5 inches. The 
trunk is strong, and is covered with a blackish bark, chapped 
into many small portions, which are often in the shape of squares 
more or less exact. The branches are proportionally less 
numerous than other trees, and are regularly disposed nearly in 
the form of crosses. The young twigs are observed to incline 




PLATE XXI n. 

Fi?. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. The seed. 



142 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

upwards in a semi-circular direction. The leaves are opposite, 
about three inches in length, oval, of a dark green above and 
whitish beneath : the upper surface is very distinctly sulcated. 
Towards the close of summer they are often marked with black 
spots, and at the approach of winter they change to a dull red. 
In New York and New Jersey the flowers are fully blown about 
the middle of May, while the leaves are only beginning to unfold 
themselves. The flowers are small, yellowish and collected in 
bunches, which are surrounded with a very large involucre 
composed of four white floral leaves, sometimes inclining to violet. 
This fine involucre constitutes all the beauty of the flowers, which 
are very numerous, and which, in their season, robe the tree in 
white, like a full-blown apple tree, and render it one of the fairest 
ornaments of the American forests. The seeds of a vivid, glossy 
red, and of an oval shape, are always united. They remain 
upon the trees till the first frosts. 

The wood is hard, compact, heavy and fine-grained, and is 
susceptible of a brilliant polish. The sap is perfectly white, and 
the heart is of a chocolate color. This tree is not large enough 
for works which require pieces of considerable volume : it is 
used for the handles of light tools, such as mallets, small vices, 
etc. It is employed by engravers for cuts used in printing. 
Some farmers select it for harrow teeth, for the hames of horses' 
collars, and also for lining the runners of sledges ; but to whatever 
purpose it is appHed, being hable to split, it should never be 
wrought till it is perfectly seasoned. The shoots when three or 
four years old, are found proper for the light hoops of small, 
portable casks. In the Middle States, the cogs of mill wheels 
are made of dogwood. Such are the profitable uses of this tree ; 
it affords also excellent fuel, but it is too small to be brought into 
the markets of the cities. The liber of this wood is extremely 
bitter, and proves an excellent remedy in intermitting fevers. 
The bark of this wood, has a close analogy to the Peruvian bark, 
and has proved, in many cases, to be capable of supplying its 
place with success. We are told of a respectable physician of 
Pennsylvania, who, during twenty years, had constantly employed 
it, and who estimated 35 grains of it to be equivalent to 30 grains 



DENDROLOGY. 



143 



of the Peruvian bark. The only inconvenience accompanying its 
use was that, if taken within a year after being stripped from the 
tree, it sometimes occasioned acute pains in the bowels : but this 
evil was remedied by adding to it 5 grains of Virginia snake root, 
AristoJochia serpentaria. The bark may be substituted for gall 
nuts, of which an excellent ink may be naade by putting one half 
of an ounce of it with 2 scruples of sulphate of iron, 2 scruples 
of gum arable and 16 ounces of rain water. By shaking the 
infusion well together it will be fit for use in a few days. 

CUPRESSUS. 



Moncecia Monadelphia. Linn. Coniferse. Juss. Expectorant, seccrnant, 

stimulant. 

Cypress. Cupressus disticha. 

This species is the most 
interesting of its genus for 
the varied application of its 
wood and for its extraordina- 
ry dimensions in a favorable 
soil and climate. In Louis- 
iana it is called Cypre or 
Cypres, and in the ancient 
Southern States Cypress, 
and sometimes 5a7(Z Cypress. 
The names of Black and 
WJiite Cypress, in the Car- 
olinas and Georgia, are 
founded only on the quality 
and color of the wood. 
The banks of Indian River, 
a small stream that waters a 
part of Delaware in latitude 38^ 50', may be assumed as its 
northern boundary. Hence in proceeding southward, it becomes 
constantly more abundant in the swamps ; but in Maryland and 
Virginia it is confined to the vicinity of the sea, where the winter 




PLATE XXIV. 
Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. A cone. 



144 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

is milder and the summer more intense. Beyond Norfolk its 
limits coincide exactly with those of the pine-barrens, and in the 
Carolinas and Georgia it occupies a great part of the swamps 
which border the rivers after they have found out their way from 
among the mountains and have entered the low lands. The 
Mississippi, from its mouth to the river of the Arkansas, is bordered 
with marshes, which at the annual overflowing of this mighty 
stream, form a vast expanse of waters. In Louisiana those parts 
of the marshes where the cypress grows almost alone are called 
Cyprieres, cypress swamps, and they sometimes occupy thousands 
of acres. 

In the swamps of the Southern States and the Floridas, on 
whose deep, miry soil a new layer of vegetable mould is every 
year deposited by the floods, the cypress attains its utmost 
developement. The largest stocks are 120 feet in height, and 
from 25 to 40 feet in circumference above the conical base, 
which at the surface of the earth, is always three or four times 
as large as the continued diameter of the trunk : in felling them 
the Negroes are obliged to raise themselves upon scaffolds five 
or six feet from the ground. The base is usually hollow for 
three-fourths of its bulk, and is less regularly shaped than that of 
the large tupelo. Its surface is longitudinally farrowed with 
deep channels, whose ridges serve as cramps to fix it more 
firmly in the loose soil. The roots of the largest stocks, 
particularly of such as are most exposed to inundation, are 
charged with conical protuberances, commonly from 18 to 24 
inches, and sometimes 4 or 5 feet in thickness : they are always 
hollow, smooth on the surface, and covered with a reddish bark 
like the roots, which they resemble, also, in the softness of their 
wood ; they exhibit no sign of vegetation, and no cause can be 
assigned for their existence j they are peculiar to this tree, and 
begin to appear when it is 20 or 25 feet in height ; they are not 
made use of except by the Negroes for bee hives. Amidst the 
pine forests and savannas of the Floridas, is seen here and there 
a bog or a plash of water filled with cypresses, whose squalid 
appearance, when they, exceed 18 or 20 feet in height, proves 
how much they are affected by the barrenness of a soil which 



DENDROLOGY. 145 

diiTers from the surrounding waste only by a layer of vegetable 
mould a little thicker upon the quartzous sand. The summit of 
the cypress is not pyramidical like that of the spruces, but is 
widely spread and even depressed upon old trees. The foliage 
is open, light and of a fresh agreeable tint : each leaf is four or 
five inches long, and consists of two parallel rows of leaflets upon 
a common stem. The leaflets are small, fine and somewhat 
arching, with the convex side outwards. In autumn they change 
from a light green to a dull red, and are shed soon after. This 
tree blooms in Carolina about the first of February. The male 
and female flowers are separately borne by the same tree, the 
first in flexible pendulous aments, and the second in bunches 
scarcely apparent. The cones are about as large as the thumb, 
hard, round, of an uneven surface, and stored with small, 
irregular, ligneous seeds, containing a cylindrical kernel : they 
are ripe in October, and retain their productive virtues two years. 
The wood is fine-grained, and, after being for some time 
exposed to the light, of a reddish color : it possesses great 
strength and elasticity, and is lighter and less resinous than that 
of the pines. To these properties is added the faculty of long 
resisting the heat and moisture of the southern climate. The 
color of the bark and the properties of the wood vary with the 
nature of the soil ; the stocks which grow near the natural bed 
of the rivers, and are half the year surrounded with water to the 
height of three or four feet, have a lighter-colored bark than 
those which stand retired in places that the waters do not reach, 
or where they sojourn but a moment. The wood, also, is whiter, 
less resinous and less heavy. These are called TVIiite Cypresses. 
The others, of which the bark is browner and the wood heavier, 
more resinous, and of a duskier hue, are called Black Cypresses. 
When destined to be employed in the arts, both varieties should 
be felled in the winter, and kept till, by a long process, the wood 
has become perfectly dry. A resin of an agreeable odor and a 
red color exudes from the cypress ; it is not abundant enough to 
be collected for commerce, though more copious than that of the 
white cedar, which is probably the reason of the wood being 
denser and stronger : it is preferred to that of the pines for the 
19 



146 



STLVA AMERICANA. 



dressing of suppurating wounds. By boiling the leaves three 
hours in water they afford a fine durable cinnamon color. This 
wood is extensively employed for building wherever it abounds. 
Of whatever materials the building is constructed, the roof is 
universally covered with cypress shingles, which, if made of trees 
felled in the winter, last forty years. Cypress boards are 
preferred to those of pine for the inside of brick houses, and for 
window sashes, and the panels of doors exposed to the weather : 
cabinet makers also choose it for the inside of mahogany furniture. 
It is highly proper for the masts and sides of vessels, and wherever 
it grows it is chosen for canoes, which are fashioned from a single 
trunk, and are often 30 feet long and 5 feet wide, light, solid and 
more durable than those of any other tree. It makes the best pipes 
to convey water under ground ; especially the black variety, 
which is more resinous and solid. 



White Cedar. Cupressus thyoides. 

Among the resinous trees 
of the United States, the 
White Cedar is one of the 
most interesting for the 
varied utility of its wood. 
North of the river Connec- 
ticut it is rare and little 
employed in the arts. In 
the Southern States it is not 
met with beyond the river 
Santee, but it is found, though 
not abundantly, on the Sa- 
vannah : it is multiplied only 
within these limits and to 
the distance of 50 miles 
from the ocean. At New 
York, New Jersey and Penn- 
sylvania, it is known by the name of White Cedar, and in 
Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina, by that of Juniper. We 




PLATE XXV. 
Fig. 1 A leaf. Fig. 2. A cone. 



DENDROLOGY. 147 

have adopted the first denomination, which is not unknown where 
the second is habitually used, because the tree belongs to a 
different genus from the junipers. In Massachusetts, Vermont, 
New Hampshire and the more northern parts of America, the 
arbor vitae is called white cedar, but we have thought proper to 
retain the name for the species we are now considering. The 
white cedar grows only in wet grounds. In the maritime districts 
of New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia, it nearly fills the. extensive 
marshes which lie adjacent to the salt meadows, and are exposed 
in high tides to be overflowed by the sea. In New Jersey it 
covers almost alone the whole surface of the swamps. 

The white cedar is 70 or 80 feet high, and sometimes more 
than three feet in diameter. When the trees are close and 
compressed, the trunk is straight, perpendicular and destitute of 
branches to the height of 50 or 60 feet. The epidermis is 
very thin on the young stocks ; but as they grow older it becomes 
thick, of a soft filaceous texture, of a reddish color, and similar 
to that of an old vine. When cut, a yellow transparent resin of 
an agreeable odor exudes, of which a few ounces could hardly 
be collected in a summer from a tree of three feet in circumfer- 
ence. The foliage is ever green : each leaf is a little branch 
numerously subdivided, and composed of small, acute, imbricated 
scales, on the back of which a minute gland is discerned with 
the lens. In the angle of these ramifications grow the flowers, 
which open in April or May and are scarcely visible, and which 
produce very small rugged cones of a greenish tint, that change 
to bluish towards autumn, when they open to release the fine 
seeds. 

The wood is light, soft, fine-grained and easily wrought. 
When perfectly seasoned and exposed for some time to the light 
it is of a rosy hue. It has a strong aromatic odor, which it 
preserves as long as it is guarded from humidity. The perfect 
wood resists the succession of dryness and moisture longer than 
that of any other species, and for this quality, principally, as well 
as its extreme lightness, it is employed for shingles, which last 
from 40 to 50 years. The superior fitness of this wood for 
various household utensils, has given rise, in Philadelphia, to a 



148 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

distinct class of mechanics called cedar coopers, and a considerable 
number of workmen are employed for the domestic and foreign 
market. They fabricate principally pails, wash tubs and churns 
of different forms. This ware is cheap, light and neatly made ; 
and instead of becoming dull, like that of other wood, it grows 
whiter and smoother by use. This wood, when selected with 
care, makes excellent sound-boards for piano fortes. Charcoal 
highly esteemed in the manufacture of gun powder is made of 
young stocks about an inch and a half in diameter deprived of 
their bark ; and the seasoned wood affords beautiful lamp black, 
lighter and more intensely colored, though less abundant, than 
that obtained from the pine. The farmers of the borders of the 
cedar swamps employ this tree for field fence : the rails, formed 
of young stocks entire or spht in the middle, last from 50 to 60 
years when deprived of the bark. This wood has long since 
ceased to be employed for the frames of houses, as it is more 
profitably used for other purposes in joinery, for which it is 
superior to white pine, being still more durable and more secure 
frorn worms. 



DENDBOLOGY. 



149 



DIOSPYROS. 



Polygamia Dicecia. Linn. Guaiacana;. Juss. Tonic, scanning stomachic. 

Persimon. Diospyros Virginiana. 

The banks of the river 
Connecticut, below the 42d 
degree of latitude, may be 
considered as the northern 
limit of this tree ; but it is 
rendered rare in these parts 
by the severity of the winter, 
while in New Jersey it is 
common and still more so in 
Pennsylvania, Maryland and 
the Southern States : it 
abounds, also, in the western 
forests. It is every where 
known to Americans by the 
name which we have adopted ; 
the French call it Plaquemi- 
nier, and its (ruit plaqumines. 
The persimon varies surprisingly in size in different soils and 
climates. In New Jersey it is not more than half as large as in 
the more southern states, where, in favorable situations, it is 
sometimes 60 feet in height and 18 or 20 inches in diameter. 
The trunk of a full-grown tree is covered whh a deeply-furrowed 
blackish bark, from which a greenish gum exudes without taste 
or smell. The leaves are from four to six inches in length, 
oblong, entire, of a fine green above and glaucous beneath : in 
autumn they are often variegated with black spots. The terminal 
shoots are observed to be usually accompanied, at the base, by 
small, rounded leaves. This tree belongs to the class of 
vegetables whose sexes are confined to different stocks. Both 
the barren and fertile flowers are greenish and not strikingly 
apparent. They put forth in June or July. The ripe fruit is 




Fig. 1. 



PLATE XXVI. 
A leaf Fig. 2. The fruit. 



150 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

about as large as the thumb, of a reddish complexion, round, fleshy 
and furnished with six or eight semi-oval stones, slightly swollen 
at the sides and of a dark purple color. It is not eatible till it 
has been touched with frost, by which the skin is shrivelled, and 
the pulp, which before was hard and extremely harsh to the 
taste, is softened and rendered palatable. The fruit is so 
abundant in the Southern States, that a tree often yields several 
bushels. In the south it adheres to the branches long after the 
shedding of the leaf, and when it falls it is eagerly devoured by 
wild and domestic animals. " 

The fresh sap wood is of a greenish color, which it preseiTCS 
after it is seasoned, and the -heart wood is brown, hard, compact, 
strong and elastic. It is employed for screws, tinmen's mallets, 
and shoe lasts. It is used by coach makers for the shafts of 
chaises, and is found preferable to the ash. The fruit is some- 
times pounded with bran, and formed into cakes which are 
dried in an oven, and kept to make beer, for which purpose they 
are dissolved in warm water with the addition of hops and leven. 
It was long since found that brandy might be made from this 
fruit, by distilling the water, previously fermented, in which they 
have been bruised. This liquor is said to become good as it 
acquires age. The inner bark is extremely bitter, and has been 
used with success in intermitting fevers. 



DENDROLOGY. 



151 



FAGUS. 

MonoeciaPolyandria. Linn. Amentaceaj. Juss. Astringent, tonic, emollient. 

Red Beech. Fagus ferruginea. 

This species of Beech is 
almost exclusively confined 
to the north-eastern parts of 
the United States, and to 
the provinces of Canada, 
New Brunswick and Nova 
Scotia. In the state of 
Maine, New Hampshire and 
Vermont it is so abundant 
as often to constitute exten- 
sive forests, the finest of 
which grow on fertile, level 
or gently sloping lands which 
are proper for the culture of 
corn. 

The red beech equals 
the white species in diameter, 




PLATE XXVIL 
Fig. 1. A leaf and fruit. Fig. 0. A nut. 



but not in height ; and as it ramifies nearer the earth, and is 
more numerously divided, it has a more massy summit and the 
appearance of more tufted foliage. Its leaves are equally brilHant, 
a little larger and thicker and have longer teeth. Its fruit is of 
the same form, but is only half as large, and is garnished with 
firmer and less numerous points. The flowers are similar to 
those of the white beech though smaller, and put forth in May 
or June. To these differences must be added a more important 
one in the wood: a red beech 15 or 18 inches in diameter 
consists of 3 or 4 inches of sap and 13 or 14 inches of heart, 
the inverse of which proportion is found in the white beech. 

The wood of the red beech is stronger; tougher and more 
compact. In the state of Maine and the British Provinces, 
where the oaks are rare, it is employed with the sugar maple and 



152 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



yellow birch for the lower part of the frames of vessels. It is 
also employed for hoops, shoe lasts, the handles of tools, and is 
especially proper for the tops of cards, because when perfectly 
seasoned, it is not liable to warp. This wood is used for fuel, 
but it is less esteemed than the sugar maple. The beech nuts are 
of a triangular form, with a smooth, tough skin, and a fine interior 
pellicle adhering to the kernel. They are united in pairs in 
capsules garnished with soft points, from which they escape about 
the first of October, the season of their maturity. The fruit 
should be gathered as soon as it is ripe, as it is liable to be 
injured by the rain. They should be collected in dry weather, 
and spread like corn, in a garret or other place secure from 
humidity, and frequently turned. They are found to be better 
when dried insensibly in this manner than when exposed to the 
sun. A rich oil may be extracted from these nuts, and when 
done with skill equals one sixth of the fruit. 



White Beech. 



Fagus sfjlvestris. 




PLATE XXVIII. 
Fia. 1. A leaf aid fruit. Fig 



The White Beech is one 
of the tallest and most ma- 
jestic trees of the American 
forests. It grows the most 
abundantly in the Middle and 
Western States. Though it 
is common in New Jersey, 
Pennsylvania, Maryland and 
throughout the country east 
of the mountains, it is insu- 
lated in the forests, instead 
of composing large masses, 
as in Genessee, Kentucky 
and Tennessee. A deep, 
moist soil and a cool atmos- 
phere are the most suitable 
to the growth of this tree. 



DENDROLOGY. 153 

On the banks of the Ohio the white beech attains the height of 
more than 100 feet with a circumference of 8 to 11 feet. In 
these forests, where these trees vegetate in a deep and fertile 
soil, their roots sometimes extend to a great distance even with 
the surface, and being entangled so as to cover the ground, they 
embarrass the steps of the traveller and render the land peculiarly 
difficult to clear. This tree is more slender and less branchy 
than the red beech ; but its foliage is superb, and its general 
appearance magnificent. The leaves are oval-acuminate, smooth, 
shining and bordered in the spring with a soft, hairy down. The 
sexes are borne by different branches of the same tree. The 
barren flowers are collected in pendulous, globular heads and 
the others are small and of a greenish hue. They put forth in 
May. The fruit is an erect capsule covered with loose, flexible 
spines, which divides itself at maturity into four parts, and gives 
liberty to two triangular seeds. The bark upon the trunk of 
beeches is thick, gray, and, on the oldest stocks, smooth and 
entire. 

The perfect wood of the white beech bears a small proportion 
to the sap, and frequently occupies only 3 inches in a trunk 18 
inches in diameter. On the banks of the Ohio and in some parts 
of Kentucky, where the oak is too rare to afford bark enough for 
tanning, the deficiency is supplied by that of this wood ; the 
leather made with it is white and serviceable, though avowedly 
inferior to what is prepared with the bark of the oak. The beech' 
wood employed for fuel, bears a small proportion to the oak and 
the hickory ; hence we presume that it is comparatively little 
esteemed. Its uses in the arts are similar to those of the red 
beech. 



20 



164 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



FRAXINUS. 

Polvgamia DicEcia. Linn. Jasmineoe. Juss. Tonic, scccrnard, stimulant. 
White Ash. Fraxinus Americana. 




The White Ash is one of 
the most interesting among 
the American species for the 
qualities of its wood, and the 
most remarkable for the 
rapidity of its growth and 
for the beauty of its foliage. 
It abounds in New Bruns- 
wick and Canada ; in the 
[United States it is most 
'multiplied north of the river 
Hudson, and is more com- 
mon in Genessee, than in 
the southern part of New 
York, in New Jersey and 
Pennsylvania. A cold cli- 
mate seems most congenial 
to its nature. It is every where called White Ash, probably 
from the color of its bark, by which it is easily distinguished. 
The situations most favorable to this tree are the banks of rivers 
and the edges and surrounding acclivities of swamps. 

The white ash sometimes attains the height of 80 feet with a 
diameter of three feet, and is one of the largest trees of the 
United States. The trunk is perfectly straight and often undivided 
to the height of more than 40 feet. On large stocks the bark is 
deeply furrowed, and divided into small squares from one to three 
inches in diameter. The leaves are twelve or fourteen inches long, 
opposite and composed of three or four pair of leaflets surmounted 
by an odd one. The leaflets, which are borne by short petioles, 
are three or four inches long, about two inches broad, oval- 
acuminate, rarely denticulated, of a delicate texture and an 



PLATE XXIX. 
Fig. 1. A leaflet. Fig. 2. The seed. 



DENDROLOGY. 155 

undulated surface. Early in the spring they are covered with a 
light down, which gradually disappears, and at the approach of 
summer they are perfectly smooth, of a light green color above 
and whitish beneath. It puts forth white or greenish flowers in 
the month of May, which are succeeded by seeds that are 18 
lines long, cylindrical near the base, and gradually flattened 
into a wing, the extremity of which is slightly notched. They 
ai'e united in bunches four or five inches long, and are ripe in 
the beginning of autumn. The shoots of the two preceding 
years are of a bluish gray color and perfectly smooth : the 
distance between their buds sufficiently proves the vigor of their 
growth. 

In large trees the perfect wood is reddish and the sap is white. 
This wood is highly esteemed for its strength, suppleness and 
elasticity, and is employed with advantage for a great variety of 
uses, of which we shall mention only the most common. It is 
always selected by coach makers for shafts, for the felloes of 
wheels, and for the frames of carriage bodies j it is also used for 
chairs, scythe and rake handles, the hoops of pails, the circular 
pieces of boxes and selves ; for wooden bowls and other domestic 
wares. In the state of Maine it is extensively used for staves, 
which are of a quality between those of white and those of red 
oak, and are esteemed best for containing salted provisions. It 
is admitted also into the lower frame of vessels, but is considered 
inferior to the yellow birch, and to the heart of the red beech. 
In all the Atlantic States the blocks used in ships and the pins 
for attaching the cordage are made of ash, for which purpose 
the white ash is employed in the northern and the red ash in 
the southern ports. On account of its strength and elasticity, 
the white ash is esteemed superior to every other wood for oars. 

Carolinian Ash. F7-axinus platycarpa. 

This species of ash is confined to the Southern States. It 
abounds particularly on the river Cape Fear in North Carolina, 
and upon the Ashley and the Cooper in South Carolina. The 
marshy borders of creeks and rivers, and all places exposed to 



156 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



long inundations, are congenial to this ash, which delights in 
more abundant moisture than the other species. 

Its vegetation is beautiful, but its stature rarely exceeds 30 
feet,, and it fructifies at half this height. In the spring the lower 
side of the leaves and young shoots are covered with thick down, 
which disappears at the approach of summer. Tlie leaves 
commonly consist of two pair of leaflets with a terminal odd one. 
The leaflets are large, nearly round, petiolated and distinctly 
toothed. The flowers, as in the other species, are small and not 
very conspicuous ; the seeds, unlike those of any other ash with 
which we are acquainted, are flat, oval and broader than they 
are long. 

From its inferior dimensions this tree is not much used in the 
arts ; although it possesses properties of eminent utility. 



Blue Ash. Fraxinus quadrangulata. 

The Blue Ash is unknown 
to the Atlantic parts of the 
United States, and is found 
only in Tennessee, Kentucky 
and the southern part of Ohio. 
It requires the richest soil to 
bring this tree to perfection. 
The blue ash frequently 
exceeds 60 or 70 feet in 
height and 18 or 20 inches 
in diameter. Its leaves are 
from 12 to 18 inches long, 
and are composed of two, 
three or four pair of leaflets 
with an odd one. The 
leaflets are large, smooth, 
oval-acuminate, distinctly 
toothed and supported by short petioles. The young shoots to 
which the leaves are attached are distinguished by four opposite 
membranes, three or four lines broad and of a greenish color. 




PLATE XXX. 
Fig. K A leaflet. Fig. 2. The seed. 



DENDROLOGY. 



157 



extending through their whole length : this character disappears 
the third or fourth year, leaving only the traces of its existence. 
The seeds are flat from one extremity to the other, and a little 
narrowed towards the base. 

The wood of the blue ash possesses the characteristic properties 
of the genus, and of all the species of the Western States it is 
the most extensively employed and the most highly esteemed. 
Besides the habitual use that is made of it for the frame of 
carriages and for the felloes of wheels, it is generally selected 
lor the flooring of houses, frequently for the exterior covering, 
and sometimes for the shingles of the roof; but for the last 
purpose the tulip tree is preferred. It is said that a blue color 
can be extracted from the bark of this tree. 



Black Ash, Fraxinus sambucifoUa. 

In the extensive country 
comprising the northern sec- 
tion of the United States 
and the provinces of New 
Brunswick and Nova Scotia 
the White Ash and the Black 
Ash, which is sometimes 
called Water Ash and Brown 
Ash, are the most abundant 
in the forests and the most 
perfectly known to the in- 
habitants. The black ash 
requires a moister soil than 
the white ash, and longer 
exposed to inundations. 

The black ash is 60 or 
70 feet high and about two 
feet in diameter. It is easily distinguished from the white ash 
by its bark, which is of a duller hue, less deeply furrowed, and 
has the layers of the epidermis applied in broad sheets. The 
buds are of a deep blue, and the young shoots of a bright green 




PLATE XXXL 
Fig. 1. A leaflet. Fig. 2. The seed. 



158 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

sprinkled with dots of the same color which disappears as the 
season advances. The leaves at their unfolding are accompanied 
by stipulae which fall after two or three weeks : they are twelve 
or fifteen inches long when fully developed, and composed of 
three or four pair of leaflets with an odd one. The leaflets are 
sessile, oval-acuminate, denticulated, of a deep green color, 
smooth on the upper surface, and coated with red down upon 
the main ribs beneath : when bruised they emit an odor like that 
of elder leaves. Its flowers open in May or June, which are of 
a greenish color, and are succeeded by seeds disposed in bunches 
four or five inches long, flat, and, like those of the blue ash, are 
nearly as broad at the base as at the summit. 

The perfect wood is of a brown complexion and fine texture ; 
it is tougher and more elastic than that of. the white ash, but less 
durable when exposed to the vicissitudes of dryness and moisture, 
and for this reason it is less extensively used. Coach makers 
do not employ it, and it is never wrought into oars, hand spikes 
and pulleys. In New Hampshire and the state of Maine it is 
preferred to the white ash for hoops, which are made of saplings 
from six to ten feet in length split in the middle. As this wood 
may be separated into thin, narrow strips, by mailing, it is selected 
in the country for the bottoms of chairs, for baskets and riddles. 
This wood is more liable than any other species to be disfigured 
with knobs, which are sometimes of a considerable size and are 
detached from the body of the tree to make bowls. The wood 
of these excrescences has the advantage of superior solidity, and 
when carefully polished exhibits singular undulations of the fibre ; 
divided into thin layers it might be employed to embellish 
mahogany. The ashes of this wood are singularly rich in alkali, 
from which, in Vermont and New Hampshire, great quantities of 
potash are made. 



DENDROLOGY. 



159 



Red Ash. Fraxinus tomentosa. 




Of all the ashes this 
species is the most multiplied 
in Pennsylvania, Maryland 
and Virginia. Like the 
white ash it prefers swamps 
and places frequently inun- 
dated or liable to be covered 
with water by copious rains. 
The red ash is a beautiful 
tree, rising perpendicularly 
to the height of 60 feet wnth 
a diameter of 1 5 or 1 8 inches. 
It is inferior to the white ash 
not only in size but in the 
rapidity of its growth ; the 
length of the annual shoots 
and the distance of the buds 
The bark upon the 
trunk is of a deep brown color. The leaves are from twelve to 
fifteen inches long and are composed of three or four pair of very 
acuminate, leaflets, terminated with an odd one. Their lower 
surface, as well as the shoots of the same season to which they 
are attached, is covered with thick down : on insulated trees this 
down is red at the approach of autumn, w^hence, probably, is 
derived the name of the tree. It puts forth greenish flowers in 
May, which are followed by seeds, similar in form and arrange- 
ment, though shorter, to those of the white ash. 

The wood of this species is of a brighter red than that of the 
white ash, and possesses all the properties for which the other is 
esteemed, and in the Middle and Northern States they are 
indifferently applied to the same diversified uses ; that of the red 
ash, however, is somewhat harder and consequently less elastic. 



PLATE XXXII. 
Fig. I. A leaflet. Fig. 2. The seed. 



are but half as great as in the white ash 



160 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



Green Ash. Fraxinus viridis. 



*^ 



The Green Ash is more 
common in the western 
districts of Pennsylvania, 
Maryland and Virginia than 
in any other part of the 
United States ; but even 
here it is less multiplied 
than the white ash and black 
ash. It is found on the 
islands of the Susquehannah, 
and grows most abundantly 
on the banks of the Monon- 
gahela and the Ohio. 

This tree attains the height 
of 95 or 30 feet, with a 
diameter of four or five 
inches. It may be easily 
recognized by the brilliant color of the young shoots and of its 
leaves, of which the two surfaces are nearly alike, are from six 
to fifteen inches in length, according to the vigor of the tree and 
to the coolness of the soil, and are composed of three, four or five 
pair of petiolated, oval acuminate and distinctly denticulated 
leaflets, surmounted by an odd one. It puts forth greenish 
flowers in May, which are succeeded by seeds, similar in form 
to those of the white ash, though only half as large. 

The wood of the green ash is distinguished by the same 
properties with that of the preceding species ; but as the others 
are common in the same regions, and are so much superior in 
size it is only accidentally employed. 




PLATE XXXIII. 
Fig. 1. A leaflet. Fig. 2. The seed. 



DENDROLOGY. 161 

GLEDITSCHIA. 

Polygamia Dioecia. Linn. Leguminosse. Juss. Aperient, emollient. 
Water Locust. Gleditschia monosperma. 

The Water Locust is first seen in the Atlantic States in the 
lower part of South Carolina, in which place, as well as in 
Georgia and East Florida, this tree, though not very rare, is not 
common. In the Western Country it is found 3 or 4 degrees 
farther north in Illinois. In the southern and maritime parts of 
the United States this tree is designated by no other name than 
the one which we have adopted, and grows only in large swamps 
that border the rivers, where the soil is constantly wet and often 
inundated at the season of the rising of the waters. 

The water locust grows to the height of 50 or 60 feet, and 
from one to two feet in diameter. The bark upon the trunk of 
young trees is smooth ; on old stocks it is cracked, but less 
deeply furrowed than that of the oaks and the walnuts. The 
branches, like those of the sweet locust, are armed with thorns, 
which are less numerous, smaller and more pointed ; they are 
often simple, or accompanied near the base with a single secon- 
dary thorn. The leaves nearly resemble those of the sweet 
locust, from which they differ in being a little smaller in all their 
proportions. The flowers, which are not conspicuous, open in 
June, and are of a greenish color and destitute of odor. These 
are succeeded by reddish pods about an inch in diameter, and 
are united in bunches of three, each of which contains a single 
naked seed. 

The wood of this tree resembles that of the sweet locust in its 
loose texture and yellow color ; but as it grows in wet grounds, 
it is consequently inferior in quality. 



21 



162 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



Sweet Locust. Gleditschia triacanthos. 




The Sweet Locust belongs 
peculiarly to the country 
west of the Alleghanies, and 
it is scarcely found in any 
part of the Atlantic States. 
In the fertile bottoms which 
are watered by the rivers 
emptying into the Mississippi, 
in Illinois, and, still more in 
the southern parts of Ken- 
tucky and Tennessee, the 
sweet locust is abundant, in 
the most fertile soils. In 
different parts of the United 
States, this species is called 
indifferently Sweet Locust 
and Honey Locust; the 
French of Illinois call it Fevier. 

In situations favorable to its growth, the sweet locust attains 
the height of 70 or 80 feet with a diameter of 3 or 4 feet, with 
a trunk undivided for 40 feet. This tree is easily known by its 
bark, which, at intervals of a ^e\\ inches, detaches itself laterally 
in plates three or four inches wide and two or three lines thick, 
and by the form of its trunk, which appears to be twisted, and 
which presents three or four crevices of inconsiderable depth, 
opening irregularly from the bottom towards the top. The large 
thorns which cover the branches, and frequently the trunk of 
young trees, afford another very distinct character. These 
thorns are sometimes several inches long, ligneous, of a reddish 
color, and armed, at some distance from the base, with two 
secondary thorns about half the size of the first. The leaves 
are pinnated and composed of small, oval, serrate, sessile leaflets. 
This foliage is elegant and of an agreeable tint ; but it is thin, 
and scarcely obstructs the" passage of the sun beams. It is shed 



PLATE xxxiv. 

Fig. Ji. A leaf. Fig. 9. A seed. 



DENDROLOGY. 163 

annually at the approach of winter. The flowers, which open 
in June, are small, not very conspicuous and disposed in bunches. 
The fruit is in form of flat, crooked, pendulous pods, from twelve 
to eighteen inches long, and of a reddish-brown color. The 
pods contain hard, smooth, brown seeds, enveloped in a pulpy 
substance, which, for a month after their maturity, is very sweet, 
and which then becomes extremely sour. 

The perfect wood or heart of the sweet locust nearly resembles 
that of the water locust, but its grain is coarser, and its pores 
more open : in these respects it is more strikingly characterized 
even than the wood of the red oak, when perfectly seasoned. 
It is little esteemed in Kentucky, where it is more employed, 
and consequently can be better appreciated, than elsewhere. It 
is used neither by the carpenter nor the wheelwright : it is 
sometimes taken by the farmers for rails to fence their fields, but 
only when they are unable to procure better wood. The only 
destination for which it appears to be peculiarly adapted is the 
forming of hedges, which would be rendered impenetrable by its 
long thorns. Beer is sometimes made by fermenting the pulp of 
the fruit while fresh ; but the practice is not general, as the apple 
tree and peach tree, particularly the last, have become common, 
and afford a much superior beverage. 






164 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



GORDONIA. 



Monadelphia Polyandria. Linn. Malvacece. Juss. Emollitnt, ajjericnt. 



Loblolly Bay. Gordonia lasyanthus. 

The Loblolly Bay is con- 
fined to the maritime parts 
of the United States, to the 
Floridas, and to Lower 
Louisiana. In the pine- 
harrens, tracts 50 or 100 
acres are met with at inter- 
vals, which, being lower 
than the adjacent ground, 
are kejit constantly moist by 
the waters collected in them 
after the great rains. These 
spots are entirely covered 
with the loblolly bay, and 
are called Bay Swamps. 
Although the layer of veg- 
etable mould is only three 
or four inches thick, and reposes upon a bed of barren sand, the 
vegetation of these trees is surprisingly luxuriant. 

The loblolly bay grows to the height of 50 or 60 feet, with a 
diameter of 18 or 20 inches. For 25 to 30 feet its trunk is 
perfectly straight. The small divergency of its branches near 
the trunk gives it a regularly pyramidical form ; but as they 
ascend they spread more loosely, like those of other trees of the 
forest. The bark is very smooth while the tree is less than six 
inches in diameter ; on old trees it is thick and deeply furrowed. 
The leaves are ever green, from three to six inches long, 
alternate, oval-acuminate, slightly toothed, . and smooth and 
shining on the upper surface. The flowers are more than an 
inch broad, white and sweet-scented ; they begin to appear about 
the middle of July and bloom in succession during two or three 




PLATE XXXV. 
Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. A seed vessel. 



DENDROLOGY. 165 

months. This tree possesses the agreeable singularity of bearing 
flowers when it is only three or four feet high. The fruit is an 
oval capsule, divided into five compartments, each of which 
contains small, black, winged seeds. These seeds appear to 
germinate successfully only in places covered with sphagnum, a 
species of moss which copiously imbibes water. 

In trunks of these trees which exceed fifteen inches in 
diameter four-fifths of the wood is heart. The wood is of a rosy 
hue, and of a fine, silky texture ; it appears to be very proper 
for the inside of furniture, though the cypress is generally 
preferred. It is extremely light; when seasoned it is very 
brittle, and it rapidly decays unless it is kept perfectly dry : 
hence it is entirely neglected in use for timber, and it is not 
employed for fuel. The value of the bark in tanning compensates 
in some measure for the uselessness of its wood : it is employed 
for this purpose throughout the maritime parts of the Southern 
States and of the Floridas. For although this branch of industry 
is by no means as extensively practised in this part of the country, 
as in the Northern States, and though these regions afford many 
species of oak, yet the species whose bark is proper for tanning 
are not sufficiently multiplied to supply the consumption. 



Franklinia. Gordonia puhescens. 

This species of Gordonia appears to be restricted by nature 
within very narrow bounds, having hitherto been found only on jp' 
the banks of the Altamaha in Georgia. It was discovered there 
in 1770, by John Bartram, who gave it the name of Franklinia 
in honor of Dr. Franklin. It flourishes best in a sandy peat. 

The Franklinia is much smaller than the preceding species, 
and rarely exceeds 30 feet in height and six or eight inches in 
diameter. The bark of the trunk presents a smooth and angular 
surface, like that of the hornbeam. The leaves are alternate, 
oblong, narrowed at the base and toothed : they are annually 
shed in autumn. It blooms in Carolina about the beginning of 
July, and a month later near Philadelphia. The flowers are 



166 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



more than an inch in diameter, white and of an agreeable odor. 
Like those of the preceding species, they open in succession 
during two or three months, and begin to appear when the tree 
is only three or four feet high. The fruit is in form of round, 
ligneous capsules, which, when ripe, open at the summit in four 
seams, to release the small seeds. 

No particular use is made of this tree, except for ornament, 

GYMNOCLADUS. 



Dioecia Dccandria. Linn. Leguminosse. Juss. Aperient, emollient. 

Coffee Tree. Gymnodadus, canadensis. 



Upper Canada beyond 
Montreal, and that part of 
Genessee which borders on 
Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, 
are the most northern coun- 
tries which produce the 
coffee tree ; but it is much 
less abundant in these cli- 
mates than in Kentucky and 
Tennessee, and in the tracts 
which border on the Ohio 
and Illinois rivers, between 
the 35th and 40th degrees 
of latitude. The French of 
Canada call this tree Chicot ; 
those of Illinois Gros Fevier ; 
and the inhabitan-ts of the 
The richest lands are required 




PLATE XXXVI. 
Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. A pod. 



Western States, Coffee Tree 
for the production of this tree. 

It usually grows to the height of 50 or 60 feet, with a diameter 
of 12 or 15 inches. In summer this tree when fully grown has a 
fine appearance : its straight trunk is often destitute of branches 
for 30 feet, and supports a summit not very widely spread, but 



DENDROLOGY. 1 G7 

of a regular shape and tufted foliage : in the winter when its 
leaves are fallen, the fewness of its branches and the size of the 
terminal ones, which are very large, in comparison with those of 
other trees, give it a peculiar appearance somewhat resembling 
a dead tree. This is probably the reason of its being called 
Chicot, stump tree, by the French Canadians. To this peculiar 
character is added another of the epidermis, which is extremely 
rough, and which detaches itself in small, hard, transverse strips, 
rolled backward at the ends, and projecting sufficiently to render 
the tree distinguishable at the first sight. The leaves are 3 feet 
long, and 20 inches wide on young and thriving trees ; on old 
ones they arc not more than half as large. These leaves are 
doubly compound, with oval-acuminate leaflets from one to two 
inches long, which are of a dull green, and in autumn the petiole 
is of a violet color. The barren and fertile flowers are borne on 
different trees. The flowers open from May to July and are 
white and large. The fruit consists of large bowed pods, of a 
reddish-brown color, and of a pulpy consistency within. They 
contain several large, gray seeds which are extremely hard. 

The wood of the coffee tree is very compact and of a rosy 
hue. The fineness of its grain renders it fit for cabinet making, 
and its strength proper for building. Like the locust, it has a 
valuable property of rapidly converting its sap into perfect wood, 
so that a trunk six inches in diameter has only six lines of sap, 
and may be employed almost entire. The live bark is very 
bitter, so that a morsel no bigger than a grain of maize chewed 
for some time produces a violent irritation of the throat. 

> HOPEA. 

Polyadelphia Polyandria. Linn. Guaiacanae. Juss. Tonic, warming, 
stomachic. 

Sweet Leaf. Hopea tinctoria. 

The Sweet Leaf is common in Virginia, West Tennessee and 
in the upper part of the Carohnas and of Georgia ; but it is still 
more abundant within the limits of the pine-barrens, where the 



108 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

soil is light and the winter less rigorous than at a greater 
distance from the ocean. 

This tree varies in size according to the situation in which it 
grows ; on the banks of the Savannah and on the borders of the 
large swamps, where the soil is deep, loose and fertile, it grows 
from 25 to 30 feet in height and from seven to eight inches in 
diameter at the height of five feet from the ground. Commonly 
it does not exceed half these dimensions, and in the pine barrens, 
where it is profusely multiplied, it is sometimes only three or 
four feet in height. The sprouts from the trunks consumed in 
the annual conflagration of the forests never surpass this height, 
and, as they do not fructify, the tree is multiplied by its running 
roots, which shoot at the distance of a few feet. The trunk is 
clad in a smooth bark, and, if wounded in the spring, it distils a 
milky fluid of an unpleasant odor. The leaves are three or four 
inches long, smooth, totally thick, alternate, of an elongated oval 
shape, slightly denticulated, and of a sugary taste. In sheltered 
situations they persist during two or three years, but in the pine- 
harrens they turn yellow with the first frost and fall towards the 
first of February. The flowers spring from the base of the 
leaves, and appear early in the season : they are yellowish, 
sweet-scented, and composed of a great number of stamens 
shorter than the petals and united in separate groups at the base. 
The fruit is cylindrical, minute and of a deep blue color at its 
maturity. 

The wood of this tree is very soft and is totally useless. The 
foliage is the only part which is of any utility ; when dry it 
affords, by decoction, a beautiful yellow color, which is rendered 
permanent by the addition of a little alum, and is used to dye 
wool and cotton. But if these leaves had possessed any consid- 
erable value they would doubtless have found their way into 
commerce. 



DKNDKOLOGY. 



169 



ILEX. 



Totriuuhia Tolragyiiiii. Linn. Celastriueffi. Juss. Cathartic, emetic. 

American Holly. Ihx opaca. 

The American Holly is 
first met with in Connecticut 
and is common in all the 
more Southern Slates, in the 
Floridas, in Lower Louisiana 
and in West Tennessee, but 
it is observed to become 
more rare in approaching 
the mountains. On the 
eastern shore of Maryland, 
and in certain parts of Vir- 
ginia it grows almost exclu- 
sively on open grounds and 
in dry grav^elly soils ; while 
in South Carolina, Georgia 
and Lower Louisiana it is 
seen only in shady places, 
on the edges of swamps, where the soil is cool and fertile. 

In favorable situations this tree attains the height of 40 feet, 
with a diameter of 12 or 15 inches. Its leaves are ovate, acute, 
spinous, glabrous and flat, and are of a light-green color. Its 
flowers are whitish and not conspicuous, and put forth in the 
month of May. They are succeeded by numerous red berries 
which remain long attached to the branches. Upon the trunk 
of old trees the bark is smooth and of a whitish-gray color ; on 
the young branches it is green and shining. 

The wood of the American holly is heavy and compact, with 
a white sap and brown heart. Its grain is fine and close ; hence 
it is very brilliant when polished. Its principal use is for inlaying 
mahogany furniture : the black lines with which cabinet makers 
sometimes adorn their work are of holly dyed in the coppers of 
22 




PLATE XX.XVil. 
1. A leaf-'^iCig. 2. The fruit. 



170 



SYL.VA AMERICANA. 



the hatter. As it turns well, it is chosen for light screws and for 
the small boxes in which apothecaries put their opiates. When 
perfectly dry, this wood is very hard and unyielding, hence it is 
excellently adapted for the pulleys used in ships. The attempt 
has been successfully made for employing the holly for hedges, 
which are very dense and which have the recommendation of 
preserving their foliage through the year. The berries of the 
holly are purgative, and, taken to the number of 15 or 20, they 
excite vomiting. 

J U G L A N S. 



Moncecia Polyaiuh-ia. Linn. TercbintliaceBB. Juss. Cathartic, emetic, 

narcotic. 

BiTTERNUT Hickory. Juglans amara. 

This species is generally 
known in New Jersey by the 
name of Bitternut Hickory; 
in Pennsylvania it is called 
White Hickory and some- 
times Swamp Hickory ; far- 
ther south it is compounded 
with the pignut hickory ; the 
French of Illinois, like the 
inhabitants of New Jersey, 
give it the name of Bitternut, 
which, as it indicates one of 
the peculiar properties of the 
fruit, we have chosen to 
retain. It is nowhere found 
PLATE XXXVIII. , much beyond the boundaries 

Fig. 1. A leaflet. Fig. 2. A nut without it3 husk. •' 

of Vermont, in latitude 45"^. 
It is not seen in the state of Maine, where the borders of the 
rivers offer situations, analogous to those in which it abounds, a 
few degrees farther south. 

Near New York, and in the bottoms which stretch along the 
Okio it grows to the height of 70 or 80 feet with a circumference 




DENDROLOGY. 171 

of 10 or 12 feet. It attains these dimensions only in spots where 
the soil is excellent, constantly cool, and often inundated by 
creeks and rivers. It is probably because it thrives most in such 
situations, that it is sometimes called Sivamp Hickory. Of all the 
hickories the vegetation of this species is the latest ; the leaves 
do not unfold until a fortnight after the others. On flourishing 
trees at an age to bear, fruit, they are twelve or fifteen inches in 
length and nearly as much in breadth ; the size, as in other 
vegetables, varies according to the nature of the soil, and the 
situation of the leaf upon a lower or an upper branch. Each 
leaf is composed of three or four pair of leaflets, and terminated 
by an odd one, which is larger than the preceding pair. The 
leaflets are about six inches in length, and an inch in breadth, 
sessile, oval-acuminate, deeply toothed, smooth and of a pretty 
dark green. When the tree has shed its leaves, it may still be 
distinguished by its yellow and naked buds. In Pennsylvania 
and New Jersey, this tree blooms about the last of May. The 
peduncles of the barren flowers are in pairs, each supporting 
three flexible and pendulous aments : they are attached at the 
basis of the shoots of the same season, while the fertile aments, 
which are not conspicuous, are placed at the extremity. The 
fruit is ripe about the beginning of October 5 the husk is thin, 
fleshy and surmounted on its upper half by four appendages in 
the form of wings. It never becomes ligneous, like those of the 
other hickories, but softens and decays. The form of the nut of 
this species is more constant and more regular than in the others 
It is broader than it is long, being six or seven lines one way 
and ten lines the other. The shell is white, smooth and thin 
enough to be broken by the fingers. The kernel is remarkable 
for the deep inequalities produced on every side by its foldings. 
It is so harsh and bitter, that squirrels and other animals will not 
feed upon it, while any other nut is to be found. 

In the texture of its bark, and in the color of its heart and sap, 
this tree resembles the other hickories, and its wood possesses, 
though in an inferior degree, the weight, strength, tenacity and 
elasticity, which so plainly distinguish them. It is used for fuel, 
but it is not much superior to white oak. In some parts of 



172 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

Pennsylvania where this tree is multiphed, an oil is extracted 
from the nuts, which is used for the lamp and for other inferior 
purposes. 

Water Bitternut ^Hickory. Juglans aquatica. 

This species of hickory is confined to the Southern States, 
and is confounded with the pignut hickory, though different from 
it in many respects. It always grows in swamps, and in the 
ditches which surround the rice fields. 

It grows to the height of 40 or 50 feet, and its general 
appearance resembles the other hickories. Its leaves are eight 
or nine inches long, and of a beautiful green. They are composed 
of four or five pair of sessile leaflets surmounted by a petiolated 
odd one. The leaflets are serrate, four or five inches long, 
eight or nine lines broad, and very similar to the leaves of the 
peach tree. The husk is thin, and the nuts are small, angular, 
a little depr'essed at the sides, somewhat rough, of a reddish 
color and very tender. The kernel is formed in folds like that 
of the preceding species : as may be supposed it is not eatable. 

The wood of this tree, though partaking of the common 
properties of the hickories, is in every respect inferior to the 
others, from the nature of the grounds on which it grows. The 
southern parts of the United States possess many sorts of 
timber more useful in building, to which purpose this, like the 
other hickories, is poorly adapted. 



DENDROLOGY. 



173 



Butternut. 



Juglans cathartica. 




PLATE XXXIX. 
Fig. 1. A leaflet. Fig. 2. A nut with its husk. 



This species of walnut is 
known in the United States, 
under different denomina- 
tions. In Massachusetts, 
New Hampshire and Ver- 
mont, it bears the name of 
Oil JYut ; in Pennsylvania 
and Maryland and on the 
banks of the Ohio, it is 
generally known by that of 
White Walnut ; in Connec- 
ticut, New York, New 
Jersey, Virginia and the 
mountainous districts of the 
upper parts of the Carolinas, 
it is called Butternut. The 
last of these names we have 
adopted, because it is most generally used. This tree is found 
in the Canadas, in all of the New England States, New York, 
New Jersey, Kentucky, Tennessee and on the banks of the 
Missouri, and in the bottoms which border on the Ohio. It 
flourishes most abundantly in a cold unproductive soil, interspersed 
with large rocks, and on the steep, elevated banks of rivers. 

In favorable situations this tree grows to the height of 50 or 
60 feet with a circumference of 10 or 12 feet, five feet from the 
ground. Its roots extend even with the surface of the earth, in a 
serpentine direction, and with little variation in size, to the 
distance of 40 feet. The trunk ramifies at a small height, and 
the branches, seeking a direction more horizontal than those of 
other trees, and spreading widely, form a large and tufted head, 
which gives the tree a remarkable appearance. The bark of the 
secondary branches is smooth and grayish. The buds, like those 
of the black walnut, are uncovered. In spring its vegetation is 
forward, and its leaves unfold a fortnight earlier than those of the 



174 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

hickories. Each leaf is composed of seven or eight pair of 
sessile leaflets, and terminated by a petiolated odd one. The 
leaflets are from two to three inches in length, lanceolate, serrate 
and slightly downy. The barren flowers stand on large cyhndrical 
aments, which are single, four or five inches long, and attached 
to the shoots of the preceding year ; the fertile flowers, on the 
contrary, come out on the shoots of the same spring, and are 
situated at the extremity. The ovarium is crowned by two 
rose-colored stigmas. The fruit is commonly single, and 
suspended by a thin, pliable peduncle, about three inches in 
length ; its form is oblong-oval without any appearance of seam. 
It is often two and a half inches in length, and five inches in 
circumference, and is covered with a viscid adhesive substance, 
composed of small transparent vesicles, which are easily discerned 
with the aid of a lens. The nuts are hard, oblong, rounded at 
the base, and terminated at the summit, in an acute point ; the 
surface is very rough, and deeply and irregularly furrowed. 
They are ripe from the middle to the end of September, a 
fortnight earlier than the other species of walnut. The kernel 
is thick and oily, and soon becomes rancid j hence, doubtless, 
are derived the names of Oil nut and Butternut. 

The black walnut and butternut, when young, resemble each 
other in their foliage, and in the rapidity of their growth ; but 
when arrived at maturity, their forms are so different, as to be 
distinguishable at first sight. Remarkable peculiarities are also 
found, on examining their wood, especially when seasoned ; the 
black walnut is heavy, strong, and of a dark brown color ; while 
the butternut is light, of little strength, and of a reddish hue ; 
but they possess in common, the great advantage of durabihty, 
and of being secure from the annoyance of worms. From its 
want of solidity and from the difficulty of procuring pieces of 
considerable length, the timber of the butternut is seldom used 
in the construction of houses. As it long resists the effects of 
heat and moisture, it is esteemed for the posts and rails of rural 
fence. For corn shovels and wooden dishes, it is preferred to 
the red-flowering maple, because it is lighter and less hable to 
split. In Vermont, it is used for the panels of coaches and 



DENDROLOGY. 175 

chaises ; the workmen find it excellently adapted to this object, 
not only from its lightness, but because it is not liable to split, 
and receives paint in a superior manner. 

The medicinal properties of the butternut bark, have long since 
been proved, by several eminent physicians of the United States. 
An extract in water, or even a decoction sweetened with honey, 
is acknowledged to be one of the best cathartics afforded by 
materia inedica ; its purgative operation is always sure, and 
unattended, in the most delicate constitutions, with pain or 
irritation. Experience has shown that it produces the best effects 
in many cases of dysentery. It is commonly given in the form 
of pills, and to adults, in doses from half a dram to a dram. It 
is not however in general use, except in the country. It is 
obtained by boiling the bark entire in water, till the liquid is 
reduced by evaporation, to a thick, viscid substance, which is 
almost black. This is a faulty process ; the exterior bark, or 
the dead part which covers the cellular integument, should first 
be taken off, for by continued boiling, it becomes charged with 
four-fifths of the liquid, already enriched with extractive matter. 
This bark is also successfully employed as a revulsive, in 
inflamatory ophthalmias and in the tooth ache : a piece of it 
soaked in warm water, is applied in these cases to the back of 
the neck. In the country it is sometimes employed for dying 
wool of a dark brown color ; but the bark of the black walnut is 
preferable. On a live tree, the cellular integument, when first 
exposed, is of a pure white, in a moment it changes to a beautiful 
lemon color, and soon after to a deep brown. If the trunk of 
this tree is pierced in the month which precedes the unfolding 
of the leaves, a pretty copious discharge ensues of a slightly 
sugary sap, from which, by evaporation, sugar is obtained inferior 
to that of the sugar maple. 



17G 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



Thick Shellbark Hickory. Jus-lans laciniosa. 




This species bears a 
striking analogy to the shell- 
bark hickory, and is fre- 
quently confounded with it 
by the inhabitants of the 
Western Country : some of 
them distinguish it by the 
name of Thick Shellbark 
Hickory, which should be 
preserved as its appropriate 
denomination. East of the 
Alleghanies this tree is rare, 
and is found only in a few 
places ; it grows on the 
banks of the Schuylkill, and 
in the vicinity of Springfield, 
in Pennsylvania, where its 
fruit is called Springfield nut. 
It is also found in the county of Gloucester in Virginia, under the 
name of Gloucester Walnut. It abounds on the banks of the 
Ohio and the rivers which empty into it. 

It grows to the height of 80 feet and its ample head is 
supported by a straight trunk, in diameter, proportioned to its 
elevation. The bark exhibits the same singular arrangement 
with that of the shellbark hickory : It is divided into strips from 
one to three feet long, which are warped outwards at the end, 
and attached only In the middle. They fall and are succeeded 
by others similarly disposed. It is only observable that In this 
species the plates are narrower, more numerous, and of a lighter 
color. The outer scales of the buds do not adhere entirely to 
the inner ones, but retire as in the shellbark hickory. The 
leaves also, which vary in length from eight to twenty inches, 
observe the same process in unfolding, and are similar in size, 
configuration and texture ; but they differ in being composed of 



PLATE XL. 

1. A leaflet. Fig. 2. A section of tlie husk. 
Fig. 3. A uut. 



bENDROLOGY. 177 

seven leaflets and sometimes of nine instead of five, the invariable 
number of the shellbark hickory. The barren aments are 
disposed .in the same form, though they are, perhaps a little 
longer than in the other species. The fertile flowers appear, 
not very conspicuous, at the extremity of the shoots of the same 
spring. They are succeeded by a large oval fruit, more than 
two inches long, and four or five inches in circumference. Like 
that of the shellbark hickory, it has four depressed seams, which 
at its complete maturity, open through their whole length for the 
escape of the nut. The nut of this species is widely different 
from the other ; it is nearly twice as big, it is longer than it is 
broad, and is terminated at each end in a firm point. The shell 
is also thicker and of a yellowish hue, while that of the shellbark 
nut is nearly white. 

The thick shellbark hickory, as has been said, is nearly 
related to the shellbark hickory, and its wood, which is of the 
same color and \exture, unites the peculiar qualities of that 
.species, with such as are common to the hickories. It is applied 
to similar purposes as that of the shellbark hickory. 



Nutmeg Hickory. Juglans myrisiicceformis. 

This species is peculiar to the Middle States, though not much 
multiplied, where it bears the name of JVutmeg Hickory, from 
the resemblance of its fruit to that of the nutmeg. It is said, 
however, to abound on the banks of Red River. 

The leaves which are composed of four leaflets with an odd 
one, are systematically arranged. The shoots of the preceding 
year are flexible and tough. The nuts are very small, smooth, 
and of a brown color marked with lines of white ; the husk is 
thin and somewhat rough on the surface. The shell is so thick 
that it constitutes two-thirds of the volume of the nut, which, 
consequently, is extremely hard, and has a minute kernel. The 
fruit is still inferior to the pig nut. 



23 



178 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



Black Walnut. Juglans nigra. 




PLATE XLI. 

Fig. 1. A leaflet. Fig. 3. A nut with tlie husk. 

Fig. 3. A nut without the husk. 



This tree is knovra in all 
parts of the United States 
where it grows, and to the 
French of the Canadas and 
and Louisiana, by no other 
name than Black Walnut. 
East of the Alleghanies, the 
most northern point at which 
it appears, is about Goshen, 
in New Jersey in the latitude 
of 40^ 50^ West of the 
mountains, it exists abun- 
dantly two degrees farther 
north, in that portion of 
Genessee, which is compris- 
ed between the 77th and 



79th degrees 



of longitude. 



This tree is multiplied in the forests in the vicinity of Philadelphia, 
and with the exception of the lower parts of the Southern States, 
where the soil is too sandy, or too wet as in the swamps, it is 
met with to the banks of the Mississippi throughout an extent of 
2000 miles. East of the Alleghanies in Virginia, and in the 
upper parts of the Carolinas and of Georgia, it is chiefly confined 
to the valleys where the soil is deep and fertile, and which are 
watered by creeks and rivers. 

On the banks of the Ohio and on the islands of this beautiful 
the black walnut attains the elevation of 60 or 70 feet. 



river. 



with a diameter of 3 to 7 feet. Its powerful vegetation clearly 
points out this, as one of the largest trees of America. When it 
stands insulated, its branches, extending themselves horizontally 
to a great distance, spread into a spacious head, which gives it a 
very majestic appearance. The bark is thick, blackish and on 
old trees deeply furrowed. The leaves when bruised emit a 
strong aromatic odor. -They are about eighteen inches in length, 



DENDROLOGY. 179 

pinnate, and composed in general of six, seven or eight pair of 
leaflets surmounted by an odd one. The leaflets are opposite 
and fixed on short petioles ; they are acuminate, serrate and 
somewhat downy. The barren flowers are disposed in pendulous 
and cylindrical aments, of which the peduncles are simple, 
unlike those of the hickories. The fruit is round, odoriferous, 
of rather an uneaven surface, and always appears at the extremity 
of the branches : on young and vigorous trees, it is sometimes 
seven or eight inches in circumference. The husk is thick, and 
is not as in the hickories divided into sections ; but when ripe it 
softens and gradually decays. The nut is hard,* somewhat 
compressed at the sides and sulcated. The kernel, which is 
divided by firm ligneous partitions, is of a sweet and agreeable 
taste, though inferior to that of the European walnut. The size 
of the fruit varies considerably, and depends upon the vigor of 
the tree, and upon the nature of the soil and climate. Some 
variations are observed in the form of the fruit, and in the 
moulding of the shell which are considered only as accidental 
differences. 

When the wood of this tree is freshly cut, the sap is white and 
the heart of a violet color, which after a short exposure to the 
air, assumes an intenser shade, and becomes nearly black : hence 
probably is derived the name Black Walnut. There are several 
qualities for which its wood is principally esteemed : it remains 
sound for a long time, even when exposed to the influences of 
heat and moisture ; but this observation is only applicable to the 
heart, the sap speedily decays : it is very strong and very 
tenacious : when thoroughly seasoned it is not liable to warp and 
split ; and its grain is sufficiently fine and compact to admit of a 
beautiful polish. It possesses in addition to these advantages, 
that of being secure from worms. On account of these excellen- 
cies, it is preferred and successfully employed in many kinds of 
work. East of the AUeghanies, its timber is not extensively 
used in building houses, but, in some parts of Kentucky and 
Ohio, it is split into shingles which serve to cover them : some- 
times also this timber enters into the composition of the frame. 
But it is chiefly in cabinet making, that this wood is employed 



180 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

wherever it abounds. By selecting pieces from the upper part 
of the trunk, immediately below the first ramification, furniture 
is sometimes made, which from the accidental curlings of the 
grain is highly beautiful : but as its color soon changes to a dusky 
hue the wild cherry wood is frequently preferred for this use. 
The black walnut is also employed for the stocks of military 
muskets ; it is stronger and tougher than the red-flowering maple, 
which, from its superior lightness and elegance, is chosen for 
fowling pieces. In Virginia posts are very commonly made of 
this wood, and as it lasts undecayed in the ground from twenty 
to twenty-five years, it appears every way fit for this purpose. 
It also makes excellent naves for wheels, which farther proves its 
strength and durability. The timber of this tree is also excellently 
adapted to certain uses in naval architecture. It should never 
be wrought till it is perfectly seasoned, after which it is asserted 
to be more durable, though more brittle than the white oak. It 
is asserted that this wood, like the live oak, is not hable to be 
attacked by sea worms in warm climates. The husk of the 
fruit yields a color similar to that which is obtained from the 
European walnut. It is used in the country for dyeing woollen 
stuffs. 



DENDROLOGY. 



181 




Pacanenut Hickory. Juglans oKvcBformis. 

This species, which is 
found in Upper Louisiana, 
is called by the French of 
Illinois and New Orleans, 
Pacanier, and its fruit Pa- 
canes. This name has also 
been adopted by the inhabi- 
tants of the United States, 
who call it Pacanenut. On 
the borders of the Missouri, 
Illinois, St. Francis and 
Arkansas, it is most abun- 
dantly multiplied ; it is also 
common on the river Wabash; 
on the Ohio, it is found for 
200 miles from its junction 
with the Mississippi. This 
tree grows most abundantly in cold and wet grounds. 

The pacanenut is a beautiful tree, with a straight and well- 
shaped trunk ; in the forest it reaches the height of 60 or 70 
feet, with a proportionate diameter. Its buds, like those of the 
black walnut and butternut, are uncovered. The leaves are 
from twelve to eighteen inches in length, and are supported by 
petioles somewhat angular, and slightly downy in the spring. 
Each leaf is composed of six or seven pair of sessile leaflets, 
and terminated by a petiolated odd one, which is commonly 
smaller than the pair immediately preceding. The leaflets, on 
flourishing trees, are from two to three inches long, ovate, serrate, 
and remarkable for the circular form of the upper edge, while 
the lower one is less rounded. It is also to be noticed, that the 
main rib is placed a little below the middle of the leaflet. The 
nuts, which are usually abundant, are contained in a husk, from 
one to two lines thick, and have four slightly prominent angles, 
corresponding to their internal divisions. They vary in length 



PLATE XLIL 

Fig. 1. A leaflet. Fig. 2. A nut with the husk. 

Fig. 3. A nut without the liusk. 



182 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



from an inch to an inch and a half, are pointed at the extremities, 
of a cyhndrical form, and of a yellowish color marked, at the 
period of perfect maturity, with blackish or purple lines. The 
shell is smooth and thin, though too hard to be broken by the 
fingers : the kernel is full, and not being divided by ligneous 
partitions, is easily extracted. These nuts which are of a very 
sweet taste, form an object of petty commerce, between Upper 
and Lower Louisiana. From New Orleans, they are exported 
to the West Indies, and to the ports of the Atlantic States. 

The wood of the pacanenut is coarse-grained, and like the 
other hickories, heavy and compact : it also possesses great 
strength and durability ; but in these respects it is inferior to 
many other species of this genus. Although it merits attention, 
and by assiduous cultivation, it may be brought to a high degree of 
perfection. 

Pignut Hickory. Juglans porcina. 

This tree is generally 
known in the United States 
by the name of Pignut and 
Hognut Hickory, sometimes 
of that of Broom Hickory. 
The first of these names is 
most commonly in use ; the 
others are known in some 
districts of Pennsylvania. 
Portsmouth, New Hampshire 
may be considered as limit- 
ing towards the north, the 
climate of this tree. A little 
farther south it is abundant, 
and in the Atlantic parts of 
the Middle States, it helps to 
form the mass of the forests. 
In the Southern States, especially near the coast, it is less 
common in the woods, being found on the borders of swamps 
and in places which are Wet without being absolutely marshy, or 




Fig. 1. 



PLATE XLIIl. 
A leaflet. Fig. 2. A nut without the husk. 
Fig. 3. A nut with the iiusk. 



DENDROLOGY. 183 

exposed to a long inundation. This tree is met with in the 
Western country, and with the exception of Vermont, New 
Hampshire and the state of Maine, of the Genessee Country, 
and of the cold and mountainous tracts along the whole range of 
the Alleghanies, this tree is more or less abundant in the forests 
throughout the United States. 

The pignut hickory is one of the largest trees of the American 
forest. It grows to the height of 70 or 80 feet, with a diameter 
of 3 or 4 feet. In the winter when stript of its leaves, it is easily 
known by the shoots of the preceding summer, which are brown, 
less than half as large as those of the mockernut and shellbark 
hickories, and terminated by small, naked buds. At this season, 
it is easy, also to distinguish the bitternut hickory, by its naked 
and yellow buds. The buds of this species, as in the other 
hickories of this kind, are more than an inch in length, a 
few days before their unfolding. The inner scales are the 
largest and of a reddish color. They do not fall till the leaves 
are five or six inches long. The leaves are compound, and vary 
in size and in number of leaflets, according to the moisture and 
fertility of the soil. In rich grounds, they are eighteen inches 
long ; and the complete number of leaflets is three pair with an 
odd one. The leaflets are four or five inches long, acuminate, 
serrate, nearly sessile, and glabrous or smooth on both sides. 
On vigorous trees, which grow in shady exposures, the petiole is 
of a violet color. The barren aments are smooth, filiform, 
flexible and pendulous : they are two inches long, and in their 
arrangement, resemble those of the other hickories. The fertile 
flowers are greenish, not very conspicuous, and situated at the 
extremity of the shoot : the fruit succeeds them in pairs as often 
as single. The husk is thin and of a beautiful green : when 
ripe, it opens through half its length, for the passage of the nut. 
The nut is small, smooth, and very hard on account of the 
thickness of the shell. Its kernel is sweet but meagre and 
difficult to extract, from the firmness of the partitions. The 
form and size of these nuts vary more than in any other species. 
Some are oval, and when covered with their husks, resemble 
young figs ; others are broader than they are long, and others 



184 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



are perfectly round. Among these various forms, some nuts are 
as large as the thumb, and others not bigger than the little finger. 
The wood of the pignut hickory resembles that of the other 
species, in the color of its sap and of its heart ; it possesses also 
their excellencies and their defects. It is the strongest and the 
most tenacious of the hickories, and for this reason, is preferred 
to any other for axletrees and axe handles. These considerations 
highly recommend its cultivation. 



Shellbark Hickory. Juglans squamosa. 




PLATE XLIV. 
Fig. 1. A leaflet. Fig. 2. A nut witli tlie liuslc. 



The singular disposition 
of the bark, in this species, 
has given rise to the de- 
scriptive names of Shellbark, 
Shagbark and Scalybark 
Hickory, the first of which, 
as being most generally in 
use in the Middle and 
Southern States, we have 
adopted. Many descend- 
ants of the Dutch settlers, 
who inhabit the part of New 
Jersey near the city of New 
York, call it Kisky Thomas 
JVut, and the French of 
Illinois, know it by the name 
of JYoyer Tendre, or soft 
north of Portsmouth, New 



Fig. 3. A nut without the liuslj. 

walnut. This tree is unknown 
Hampshire ; and even there, its vegetation being impeded by 
the rigors of the climate, its stature is low and its fruit small. It 
abounds on the shores of Lake Erie, about Geneva in Genessee, 
along the river Mohawk, in New Jersey and on the bank of the 
^usquehannah and Schuylkill in Pennsylvania. In Maryland, 
in the lower parts of Virginia and in the other Southern States it 
is less common. It is met with in South Carolina and also the 
Western States, though not so abundantly as some other species. 



DENDROLOGY. 185 

East of the Alleghanies, it grows almost exclusively about swamps 
and wet grounds, which are exposed to be inundated for several 
weeks together. 

Of all hickories this species grows to the greatest height with 
proportionally the smallest diameter, for it is sometimes seen 80 
or 90 feet in height, and less than two feet thick. The trunk is 
destitute of branches, regularly shaped, and of an almost uniform 
size for three-fourths of its length, thus forming a very fine tree. 
The greatest pecuHarity in its appearance, and that by which it 
is most easily distinguished, is the surface of the trunk. The 
exterior bark is divided into a great number of long, narrow 
plates, which bend outwards at the ends, and adhere only in the 
middle. Bristling in this manner with projecting points, the 
shellbark hickory attracts the attention of the most careless 
observer. This remarkable exfoliation of the epidermis takes 
place, only in trees which exceed ten inches in diameter, though 
it is much earlier indicated by seams. This characteristic, by 
which the tree may be recognized in winter when stript of its 
leaves, does not exist during the first seven or eight years of its 
growth ; and during this period, it may easily be confounded 
with the mockernut hickory and pignut hickory, if recourse is 
not had to the buds. In these two species, the buds are formed 
of scales closely applied one upon another ; in the species which 
we are considering, the two external scales adhere for only half 
the length of the bud, and leave the upper part uncovered. 
When the sap begins to ascend in the spring, the outer scales 
fall, and the inner ones swell and become covered with a yellowish 
silky down : after a fortnight, the buds, which are already two 
inches long, open and give birth to the young leaves. The growth 
of the leaves is so rapid, that in a month they attain their full length, 
which on young and vigorous trees is sometimes twenty inches. 
They consist of two pair of leaflets, with a sessile odd one. The 
leaflets are very large, oval-acuminate, serrate and slightly downy 
beneath. The barren flowers, which appear in the state of New 
York about the Middle of May, are disposed on long, glabrous, 
filiform, pendulous aments, of which three are united on a 
common petiole, attached at the basis of the young shoots ; the 
24 



186 SYLVA AMEUICANA. 

fertile flowers, of a greenish hue and scarcely apparent, are 
situated at the extremity. The fruit is ripe about the first of 
October. It varies in size, according to the soil and the exposure 
in which it is produced, but five and a half inches maybe assumed 
as the average of the circumference. The shape is uniformly 
round, with four depressed seams, in which the husk opens at 
the season of perfect maturity, dividing itself completely into 
equal sections. The separation of the husk, and its thickness 
disproportioned to the size of the nut, form a character peculiar 
to the shellbark hickories. The nuts of this species are small, 
white, compressed at the sides, and marked by four distinct 
angles, which correspond to the divisions of the husk. 

The wood of the shellbark hickory possesses all the character- 
istic properties of the hickories, being strong, elastic and tenacious. 
It has also their common defects of soon decaying and of being 
eaten by worms. As this tree grows to a great height with 
nearly an uniform diameter, it is sometimes employed for the 
keels of vessels. Its wood is found to split most easily, and to 
be the most elastic ; for this reason it is used for making baskets, 
and also for whip handles, which are esteemed for their suppleness. 
Such are the uses which the shellbark hickory appears peculiarly 
adapted. 



DICNDKULOGY. 



187 




MocKERNUT Hickory. Juglans tomentosa. 

In the parts of New Jersey 
which he on the river Hud- 
son, this species is known 
by the name of Mockernut 
Hickory, in Pennsylvania, 
Maryland and Virginia, that 
of Common Hickory. The 
French of Illinois call it 
JVoyer dur, or hard walnut. 
The first of these denomi- 
nations, which is descriptive 
of the fruit, we have adopted. 
This species is not more 
multiplied in Pennsylvania 
and farther south, than the 
other hickories. It is not 
found north of Portsmouth 
in New Hampshire, though one hundred miles south it is common. 
It is most abundant in the forests that still remain on the coast of 
the Middle States, and in those which cover the upper parts of 
the Carolinas and of Georgia; but in the last-memioned states, 
it becomes more rare in approaching the sea, as the sterility of 
the soil, in general dry and sandy, is unpropitious to its growth. 
This is said to be the only hickory which springs in the pine- 
harrens : the sprouts are burnt every year, and never rise more 
than two or three feet. Like most of the walnuts, the mockernut 
hickory flourishes in rich soils, and chiefly on the gentle acclivities 
which surround the swamps, where it grows. 

In situations favorable to the growth of this tree, it reaches the 
height of 60 feet, with a diameter of 18 or 20 inches. Its trunk 
is covered with a thick, hard and rugged bark. The buds are 
large, of a grayish-white and very hard ; in the winter, after the 
falling of the leaf, they afford the only characteristic by which 
the tree can be distinguished, when it exceeds eight or ten feet 



Via. i 



PLATE XLV. 

A leaflet. Fig. 2. A nut with the husk. 
Fig. 3. A nut without the husk. 



188 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



in height. In the beginning of May, the buds swell, the external 
scales fall off, and the inner ones soon after burst and display the 
young leaf. The leaves are so rapid in their growth that they 
will often grow twenty inches in eighteen days. They are 
composed of four pair of sessile leaflets, and terminated by an 
odd one. The leaflets are large, oval-acuminate, serrate, pretty 
thick, and hairy beneath, as is also the common petiole to which 
they are attached. With the first frost, the leaves change to a 
beautiful yellow, and fall soon after. The barren flowers appear 
on pendulous, downy, axillary aments, six or eight inches long ; 
the fertile flowers, which are not very conspicuous, are of a pale 
rose color, and are situated at the extremity of the young shoots. 
The fruit is ripe about the middle of November. It is odorous, 
sessile or rarely pedunculated, and commonly united in pairs. 
In form and size, it exhibits remarkable varieties : on some trees 
it is round, with depressed seams, on others oblong, with angular 
or prominent seams ; it is sometimes two inches long, and twelve 
or fifteen lines in diameter, and at other times less than half this 
size. It differs also in weight, as well as in configuration and 
volume, varying from one dram to four. The largest nuts might 
be confounded with those of the thick shellbark hickory, and the 
smallest, with those of the pignut hickory. The shell is very 
thick, somewhat channelled, and extremely hard. The kernel is 
sweet but minute, and difficult to extract, on account of the 
strong partitions which divide it; hence, probably, is derived 
the name of Mockernut. 

The wood of this tree is of the same color and texture, with 
the other hickories, and characterized by the qualities which 
render this class of trees so remarkable. It is particularly 
esteemed for fuel, for which use trees of six or eight inches in 
diameter are preferred. At this stage of its growth, while the 
heart, the proper color which is reddish, is not yet developed, it 
frequently goes by the name of White-heart Hickory. In the 
country a greenish color is sometimes extracted from the bark, 
but it is not extensively used. 



DENDROLOGY. 



189 



JUNIPERUS. 

Dioecia Monadelphia. Linn. ConiferEB. Juss. Expectorant, scccrnant, 

stimulant. 




Red Cedar. Juniperus virginiana. 

The Red Cedar, which 
belongs to the Junipers, is 
the most common species of 
its genus in the United States, 
and the only one which at- 
tains such dimensions as tobe 
useful in the arts. In some 
parts of the United States it 
is improperly called Savin. 
Cedar Island in Lake Cham- 
plain, in latitude 44° 25', 
may be assumed as one of 
the remotest points at which 
it is found towards the north. 
Eastward on the border of 
the sea, it is not found beyond 
the river Kennebec, from 
which it spreads without interruption to the Cape of Florida and 
thence round the Gulf of Mexico to a distance beyond St. 
Bernard's Bay ; an extent of more than 3000 miles. In retiring 
from the shore it becomes gradually less common and less 
vigorous, and in Virginia and the more southern states it is rare 
at the point where the tide ceases to flow in the rivers ; farther 
inland it is seen only in the form of a shrub in open, dry and 
sandy places. In the Western States it is confined to spots 
where the calcareous rock shows itself naked, or is so thinly 
covered with mould as to forbid the vegetation of other trees. 

In situations where the soil and climate are favorable to the 
expansion of this tree, it grows to the height of 40 or 45 feet, with 
a diameter of 12 or 13 inches. The most striking peculiarity in 



PLATE XLVI. 
Fi". 1. A branch with leaves and fruit. 



190 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

the vegetation of the red cedar is that of its branches, which are 
numerous and close, spring near the earth and spread horizontally, 
and that the lower limbs are during many years as long as the 
body of the tree. Its diameter is very much diminished by deep, 
oblong crevices, in every' part of the trunk, which are occasioned 
by the large branches persisting after they are dead. The 
foliage is evergreen, numerously subdivided, and composed of 
small, sharp scales, enchased in one another. The male and 
female flowers are small, not conspicuous, and borne separately 
on the same or on different stocks, and put forth in May or June. 
The seeds are small, ovate berries, bluish when ripe, and covered 
with a white exudation. They arrive at maturity about the 
beginning of autumn. 

The perfect wood of this tree is of a bright reddish tint, hence 
the name Red Cedar; the sap is perfectly white. The wood is 
odorous, compact, fine-grained an^ very light, though heavier 
and stronger than that of the white cedar or cypress. To these 
qualities it unites the still more precious character of durability, 
and is consequently highly esteemed for such objects as require 
it in an eminent degree. But as it is procured with difficulty, 
and is every day becoming scarcer, it is reserved exclusively for 
the most important purposes. In the upper part of the frame of 
vessels it is joined with the live oak to compensate its excessive 
weight, and this usage more than any other, has wasted the 
species. The nearer this tree grows to the sea, and the farther 
southward, the better the wood. Next to ship building it is 
commonly used for posts, which are highly esteemed and are 
reserved for inclosing court yards and gardens in the cities and 
their vicinity, and likewise for the posts and rails of rural fence. 
It is eminently fitted for subterranean water pipes, but is rarely 
employed from the difiiculty of obtaining stocks of sufiicient 
diameter. It is also employed for small tubs, which are hooped 
with brass, and is used in the manufacture of lead pencils. It is 
likewise used by turners for large stop cocks. The foliage of 
this tree diffuses a resinous, aromatic odor when bruised ; dried 
and reduced to powder it has the same effect as the common 
juniper, of increasing the efficacy of blister plasters. The 



DENDROLOGY. 



191 



quantity of gin made from the berries in the United States is 
small compared with what is imported from Holland. Its leaves 
are found to be stimulant, diuretic and emmenagogue, and have 
been used with some success for rheumatism, dropsy and 
catamenial obstructions, in doses of one or two scruples. 



KALMIA. 

Decandria Monogynia. Linn. Rhododendrse. Juss. Tonic, narcotic. 
Mountain Laurel. Kalmia latifolia. 

The Mountain Laurel is 
a large shrub, which indiffer- 
ently bears the names of 
Mountain Laurel, Laurel., 
Ivy and Calico Tree. The 
west end of Long Island, 
and the vicinity of Pough- 
keepsie, which lies on the 
river Hudson, between the 
42d and 43d degrees of 
latitude, may be considered 
as the northern limit of this 
tree. It abounds in New 
Jersey and Pennsylvania. 
Proceeding thence south- 
west, it is found along the 
steep banks of all the rivers 
which rise in the Alleghanies ; but it is observed to become less 
common in following these streams from their source, towards 
the Ohio and Mississippi on one side, and towards the ocean on 
the other. It is rare in Kentucky and in West Tennessee, and 
in the Southern States it disappears entirely when the rivers enter 
the low country, where the pine-barrens commence. Although 
the mountain laurel abounds along the rivers of the Middle and 
Southern States, it is proportionally less common than upon the 
Alleghany Mountains, from Pennsylvania to the termination of 




PLATE XLVII. 
Fig. L A leaf. Fig. 2. A seed vessel. 



192 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

the chain in Georgia. It is nowhere seen more profusely 
multiplied, nor of a greater height and of more luxuriant vegetation, 
than in North Carolina', on the loftiest part of the Alleghanies. 
It occupies tracts of more than one hundred acres, and forms 
upon the summit, and for a third of the distance down the sides, 
thickets which are rendered nearly impenetrable by the crooked 
and unyielding trunks, crossed and locked with each other. As 
the shrubs which compose these copses are of an uniform height, 
and richly laden with evergreen foliage, they present, at a 
distance, the appearance of verdant meadows, surrounded by tall 
trees. It flourishes best in a soft, loose and cool soil, with a 
northern exposure. 

In favorable situations this shrub grows to the height of 18 or 
20 feet, with a diameter of three inches. Its leaves are of a 
coriaceous texture, oval-acuminate, entire and about three inches 
long. The flowers put forth from May to July, are destitute of 
odor, and disposed in corymbs at the extremity of the branches : 
in general they are of a beautiful rose color, and sometimes of 
a pure white. They are always numerous, and their brilliant 
effect is heightened by the richness of the surrounding foliage. 
The minute seeds are contained in small, globular capsules. 

The wood, particularly that of the roots, is compact, fine-grained, 
and marked with red lines. When dry it is very hard, and it 
turns and polishes well. It is employed for the handles of light 
tools, for screws, boxes, etc. ; it is said also to make good 
clarionets. The leaves are narcotic, and are poisonous to 
cattle. 



DENDROLOGY. 



193 



LARIX. 



MoncEcia Monadelphia. Linn. 



Coniferae. 
stiiinilant. 



Juss. Expectorant, secernant, 




American Larch. Larix Americana. 

In the north of the United 
States this tree is commonly 
designated by the name of 
Hackmatack, but we have 
preferred that of American 
Larch, which is not unknovVn 
where the other is habitually 
used. The French Cana- 
dians call it Epinette rouge. 
This tree is most abundant 
in Vermont, New Hampshire 
and the state of Maine ; but 
though the soil is well adapted 
to its growth, and the winter 
is long and severe, it does 
not form a hundredth part 
of the resinous growth, which 
consists principally of the black and the hemlock spruce and the 
red cedar. It grows in the Canadas, and extends as far north 
as Lake St. John, where it begins to abound, and to form masses 
of woods, some of which are several miles in extent. It is 
profusely multiplied also in Newfoundland, New Jersey, Penn- 
sylvania and the coldest and most gloomy exposures in the 
mountainous tracts of Virginia, which are the limits of its 
appearance towards the south : but it is rare in these states, and 
in lower Jersey it is seen only in the swamps of white cedar, 
with which it is scantily mingled. In Vermont, New Hampshire 
and Maine it grows only in low and moist places, and never on 
uplands, as about Hudson's Bay and in Newfoundland ; hence 
we may conclude that the climate of the ^northern part of the 
United States is too mild for its constitution. 
25 



PLATE XLVllI. 
Fig. 1. A branch with leaves and cones. 



194 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

The American larch is a magnificent vegelahle with a straight, 
slender trunk 80 or 100 feet in height and 2 or 3 feet in diameter. 
Its numerous branches, except near the summit, are horizontal 
or declining. The bark is smooth and polished on the trunk and 
lower limbs, and rugged on the lower branches. The leaves are 
flexible, and collected in bunches : they are shed in the fall and 
renewed in the spring. The flowers like those of the pines, are 
separate upon the same tree : the male aments, which appear 
before the leaves, are small, oblong and scaly, with two yellow 
anthers under each scale : the female flowers are also disposed 
in aments, and are composed of floral leaves covering two ovaries, 
Vi^hich in process of time become small, erect, scaly cones three 
or four hues long. At the base of each scale lie two minute 
winged seeds. On some stocks the cones are violet-colored in 
the spring instead of green ; but this is an accidental variation, 
for the trees are in no other respect peculiar. 

The wood of the American larch is superior to any species of 
pine or spruce : it is exceedingly strong and singularly durable. 
In Canada it is considered as the most valuable timber, and has 
no fault except its weight. In the state of Maine it is esteemed 
more than any other species of resinous wood for the knees of 
vessels, and is ahv^ys used for thjs purpose when proper pieces 
can be obtained. This wood is justly appreciated in the United 
States, but it is little employed because it is rare and may be 
replaced with other species which are cheaper and more 
abundant. 



DENDROLOGY. 



195 



LAURUS. 

Euucandria Munogynia. Linx. Laurinec. Juss. 

stomachic. 



Scccrnant, stimulant, 



Red Bay. Laurus caroUniensis. 




This species of Laurel is 
observed iii the lower part 
of Virginia, and it continues 
to be seen uninterruptedly 
throughout the maritime dis- 
tricts of the Carolinas and 
of Georgia, in the Floridas 
and in Lower Louisiana. It 
is known only by the name 
o( Red Bay. It is profusely 
multiplied in the branch 
swamps which intersect the 
pine-barrens. It is also seen 
on the skirts of the great 
swamps which border the 
rivers and around the ponds 
covered with the Laurus 

.stlvalis, or pond bush, that are -^^ ^^^^ ^" ^^^^ 'X^f* j^t 
cool and humid soil appears to be essential to Us growth or t 
never found in dry and sandy lands. It is ^l^/^^^^.^^' ^ 
the farther south it grows, the more vigorous and beautiful is its 

^ir:^able situations the red bay often attains the height of 
60 or 70 feet, and from 12 to 15 inches m diai^eter: when 
L d at this ;tature, its trunk is generally -oked and divid d 
into several thick limbs, at eight, ten or twelve eet from the 
ground Upln old trunks the bark is thick and ^eep y fu-wed 



PLATE I.XIX. 
Fig. 1. Alccil". Fig. 2. A seed . 



196 



SYliVA AMERICANA. 



and evergreen. The flowers, which open in April or May, are 
disposed in small, axillary branches, springing between the leaf 
and the twig, and are supported by slightly downy peduncles. 
The fruit or seed is oval and very similar to that of the sassafras. 
The seeds germinate with ease, and the old trees are surrounded 
by hundreds of young plants. 

The wood of this tree is of a beautiful rose color ; it is strong, 
has a fine, compact grain, and is susceptible of a brilliant polish. 
Before mahogany became the reigning fashion in cabinet making, 
this wood was commonly employed in the Southern States, and 
afforded articles of furniture of the highest beauty. This wood, 
like that of the red cedar, may be usefully employed in ship 
building, as it unites the properties of strength and durability. 
The leaves of this tree when bruised diffuse a strong odor 
resembling that of the sweet bay, Laurus nobilis, and may be 
employed in cookery. 



Sassafras. Laurus sassafras. 

The Sassafras, on account 
of its medicinal virtues and 
the beauty of its foliage is 
one of the most interesting 
trees of the American forests. 
In the United States, the 
neighborhood of Portsmouth 
in New Hampshire, in the 
latitude of 43^, may be 
assumed as one of the ex- 
treme points at which it is 
found towards the north-east: 
in the Western Country it is 
met with one degree farther 
north. From Boston to the 
banks of the Mississippi, and 
from the shores of4he ocean 
to Virginia and to the remotest wilds of Upper Louisiana beyond 
the Missouri, comprising an extent in each direction of more than 




ig. 1. 



PLATE L. 
A 1 eaf. Fig. 2. 



The fruit. 



DENDROLOGY. 197 

1800 miles, this tree is sufficiently multiplied to be ranked among 
the most common trees. It is seen growing on lands of every 
description, from the dry and gravelly to the most moist and 
fertile, with the exception of such as are arid and sandy to 
excess, like the pine-barrens of the Southern States : neither is 
it found in the swamps that border the rivers by which these 
states are watered. 

This tree attains its greatest developement on the declivities 
which skirt the swamps, and such as sustain the luxuriant forests 
of Kentucky and West Tennessee, where it arrives to the height 
of 50 or 60 feet, with a proportionate diameter. The bark 
which covers old trees is of a grayish color and is chapped into 
deep cracks. On cutting into it, it exhibits a dark dull red, a 
good deal resembling the color of the Peruvian bark. The bark 
of the young branches is smooth and of a beautiful green color. 
The old trees give birth to hundreds of shoots which spring up 
at little distances, but which rarely rise higher than six or eight 
feet. The leaves of the sassafras are four or five inches in 
length, alternate, and petiolated. At their unfolding in the spring 
they are downy and of a tender texture. They are of different 
shapes upon the same tree, being sometimes oval and entire, and 
sometimes divided into lobes, which >are generally three in 
number, and which are rounded at the summit. The lobed 
leaves are the most numerous and are situated on the upper part 
of the tree. About New York and Philadelphia this tree is in 
full bloom in the beginning of May, and six weeks earlier in 
South Carolina. The flowers unfold before the leaves, and 
appear in small clusters at the end of the last year's shoots. 
They are of a greenish-yellow hue, and are but slightly odoriferous. 
In this species of laurel the sexes are confined to different stocks. 
The fruit or seed is of an oval form and of a deep blue color, 
and is contained in small, bright, red cups, supported by peduncles 
from one to two inches in length. These seeds, when ripe, are 
eagerly devoured by the birds, and soon disappear from the tree. 
The wood of this tree is not strong, and branches of consider- 
able size may be broken with a slight effort. In the young tree 
the wood is white ; in those which exceed fifteen or eighteen 



198 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

inches in diameter it is reddish and of a closer grain. It is not, 
however, in these respects to be compared with the oak and hickory. 
Experience shows, that this wood, stript of its bark, resists for a 
considerable period the progress of decay ; and it is on this 
account employed for the posts and rails of rural fence. It is 
also sometimes used for the joints and rafters in houses built of 
wood. It is said to be secure from the attack of worms : this 
advantage is attributed to its odor which it preserves as long as 
it is sheltered from the sun and rain. Bedsteads made of it are 
said to be never infested with insects. But for these purposes 
the sassafras wood is not in habitual use, and is only occasionally 
employed. For fuel, it is held in little esteem, and it is only in 
the cities of the Southern States, which are not, like those of the 
north, abundantly furnished with fuel, that it is brought into the 
market : it is considered as wood of the third quality. Its bark 
contains a considerable portion of air, and snaps while burning 
like that of the chesnut. 

The medicinal virtues of the sassafras are so well proved, that 
during more than two hundred years, since its first introduction 
into materia medica, it has maintained the reputation of an 
excellent sudorific, which may be advantageously employed in 
cutaneous affections, in chronic rheumatism, and in siphilitic 
diseases of long standing. In the last case it is always joined 
with lignum vitee and sarsaparilla. The wood is slightly aromatic 
and somewhat acrimonious depending on a resin and an essential 
oil, but the smell and taste which are peculiar to the vegetable 
are more sensible in the young branches, and incomparably moi'e 
so in the bark of the roots ; this part of the tree therefore should 
always be preferred, for the wood appears to contain but a small 
degree of the qualities assigned it, and even this it loses after 
being long kept. From the bark of the roots, which is thick and 
sanguineous, the greatest quantity of essential oil is extracted : 
this oil, after long exposure to the cold, is said to deposit very 
beautiful crystals. The flowers of this tree when fresh have 
likewise a weak aromatic odor. A great number of people in 
the United States consider them as stomachic and efficacious in 
purifying the blood ; and for this purpose, during a fortnight in 



DENDKOLOGY. 



199 



the spring, they drink an infusion of them with a Uttle sugar, in 
the manner of tea. The dried leaves and the young branches 
contain a mucilaginous principle nearly resembling that of the 
ochro. They are used by some people to thicken their pottage. 
An agreeable beverage may be made by boiling the young shoots 
in water, to which a certain quantity of molasses is added, and 
the whole is left to ferment : this beer is considered as a very 
salutary drink during the summer. Mucilage of sassafras pith 
is peculiarly mild and lubricating, and has been used with much 
benefit in dysentery and catarrh, and particularly as a lotion in 
the inflammatory stages of the ophthalmia. But except as a 
diaphoretic the powers of sassafras are very doubtful. It certainly 
has no antisyphilitic properties. 



LTQUIDAMBAR. 



Moncecia Polyandria. Linn. Amentacea;. Juss. Astringent, t07iic, emollient. 



Sweet Gum. Ldquidamhar styracijiua. 




PLATE LI. 
Fi?. 1. A leaf. Tic. 5. The fniit. 



No tree has hitherto been 
found in North America so 
extensively diffused as the 
Sweet Gum. On the sea 
shore it is first seen towards 
the north- east, between 
Portsmouth and Boston, in 
the latitude of 43°, and is 
found as far as Mexico 
towards the south-west : 
from the coast of Virginia 
it extends westward to the 
river Illinois, thus spreading 
over more than two-thirds 
of the ancient territory of 
the United States, together 
with the Floridas, and Upper 



200 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

and Lower Louisiana. In the United States this tree is 
universally called Sweet Gum, and by the French of Louisiana, 
Copalm. In the Middle, Southern and Western States, the 
sweet gum is sufficiently multiplied to be numbered among the 
most common trees : it is met with wherever the soil is fertile, 
cool and exposed to temporary inundations. In the south, it 
grows also in the great swamps, which border the rivers, and 
here, owing doubtless to the mildness of the winter and to the 
intense heat of the summer, it displays its amplest dimensions. 

In favorable situations the sweet gum grows to the height of 
60 feet with a circumference of 15 feet, at five feet from the 
ground. It ramifies at the height of 15 or 18 feet, and its summit 
is spacious in proportion to the thickness of the trunk ; but it 
does not generally branch at so small an elevation. When 
confined amidst other trees, its trunk, like those of the oak and 
elm, is perfectly straight and of an uniform size to the height of 
30 or 40 feet, at which it begins to divide itself into branches : 
in these situations it is from one to two feet in diameter. On 
dry and gravelly land its height does ilot exceed 15, 20 or 30 
feet, and its secondary branches are covered with a dry, flaky 
bark, of which the plates are attached by the edge, instead of 
the face as on other trees. This tree is garnished with fine 
foliage, which changes to a dull red with the first autumnal frosts, 
and falls soon after. The shoots upon which the young leaves 
appear in the spring are smooth and of a yellowish-green color. 
The leaves vaiy in size from three to six inches, according to 
the vigor of the tree and to the situation of the leaf, being larger 
and less deeply palmated on the lower branches : they are 
alternate, petiolated, and divided into five principal lobes : in 
this last particular they bear some resemblance to the leaves of 
the sugar maple, from which they differ in having the lobes 
deeper and more regularly shaped, and being finely denticulated 
at the edge. It should be remarked also that, at the birth of the 
leaves, the back part of the principal rib is surmounted by a 
small tuft of red down. In warm weather a viscous substance 
exudes from the leaves of such of those trees as grow upon dry 
grounds ; when bruised,- they exhale a sensible, aromatic odor. 



DENDROLOGY. 201 

The barren and fertile flowers open in April and are borne by 
different branches of the same tree. The fertile flowers are not 
conspicuous, and the barren ones are in oval aments an inch and 
a half in length. The fruit is globular and bristling with points : 
when arrived at maturity, it is about an inch and a half in 
diameter, arid is suspended by a flexible pedicle, one or two 
inches long : the globes, which are green at first and afterwards 
yellow, are composed of a great number of closely connected 
capsules. At the beginning of autumn these capsules open and 
liberate the seeds, which are small, blackish, oblong, compressed 
and surmounted by a wing. Each capsule contains one or two 
seeds united with a great number of minute bodies incapable of 
germination, resembling oaken sawdust. 

The trunk of the full-grown tree is covered with a deeply- 
furrowed bark, not unlike that of several species of oak. Sweet 
gums are found of the same size on the same soil, some of which 
have a large proportion of sap and only five or six inches of 
heart, while others consist principally of perfect wood, with only 
a thin layer of sap. The heart is reddish, and when sawn into 
boards it is observed to be transversely marked at considerable 
distances with blackish belts. This wood is very compact and 
fine-grained, and is susceptible of a fine polish. Though inferior 
in strength to the oak, it suffices for many purposes which require 
great toughness and solidity. In some parts of the United 
States it is employed for the frames of wooden houses. As it 
furnishes boards two or three feet in width, it is sometimes sawn 
very thin and employed by cabinet makers to line the inside of 
certain articles of mahogany furniture : it is also employed for 
bedsteads and for the balusters of stair cases. In a word it may 
be usefully employed in all work that is sheltered from the air, 
without which precaution it speedily decays. It is little esteemed 
for fuel, and, mixed with other species of no greater value, it 
forms the lowest quality of wood in the market. In summer, 
upon cutting the live bark and at the same time slightly wounding 
the sap of this tree, a resinous substance of an agreeable odor 
distils in small quantities. 

26 



203 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



LIRIODENDRON. 



Polyandria Polygynia. Linn. Magnoliaceae. Juss. Tonic, aperient. 

Poplar or Tulip Tree. Liriodendron tujipifera. 

This tree, which surpasses 
most others of North Ameri- 
ca in height and in the 
beauty of its fohage and of 
its flowers, is one of the 
most interesting from the 
numerous and useful appli- 
cations of its wood. Wher- 
ever it abounds, and through- 
out the greater part of the 
United States, it is called 
Poplar. In Connecticut, 
. New York and New Jersey, 
it is known by the name of 
White Wood, and of Canoe 
Wood, and more rarely by 
that of Tidip Tree. This 
last denomination we have thought most proper to adopt, from 
the resemblance of its flowers to the tulip. The southern 
extremity of Lake Champlain, in latitude 45°, may be considered 
as the northern limit, and the river Connecticut, in the longitude 
of 72°, as the eastern limit of the tulip tree. It is only beyond 
the Hudson, which flows two degrees farther west, and below 
the 43° of latitude, that it is frequently met with and fully 
developed. It is multiplied in the Middle States, in the upper 
parts of the Carolinas and of Georgia, and still more abundantly 
in the Western Country, particularly in Kentucky. Its compara- 
tive rareness in the maritime parts of the Carolinas and of 
Georgia, in the Floridas and in Lower Louisiana, is owing less 
to the heat of the summer, than to the nature of the soil, which 
in some parts is too dry, as in the pme-harrens, and in others too 




PLATE Lir. 
Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2 A cone. 



DENDROLOGY. 203 

wet, as in the swamps which border the rivers. This tree attains 
the greatest dimensions In a deep, loamy, and extremely fertile 
soil, such as is found in the rich bottoms which lie along the 
rivers, and on the borders of the great swamps that are inclosed 
in the forests. 

In the Atlantic States, especially at a considerable distance 

from the sea, tulip trees are often seen 70, 80 and 100 feet in 

height, with a diameter of 18 inches to 3 feet. But the Western 

States appear to be the natural soil of this magnificent tree, and 

here it displays its most powerful vegetation. M. Michaux 

mentions a tulip tree, near Louisville, on the Ohio, which at five 

feet from the ground was 22 feet six inches in circumference, 

and whose elevation he judged to be from 120 to 140 feet. Of 

all the trees of North America with deciduous leaves, the tulip 

tree, next to the button wood, attains the amplest dimensions ; 

while the perfect straightness and uniform diameter of the trunk 

for upwards of 40 feet, the more regular disposition of its 

branches, and the greater richness of its foliage, give it a decided 

superiority over the button wood, and entitle it to be considered 

as one of the most magnificent vegetables of the temperate zones. 

In the spring, when the weather is warm and humid, the growth 

of the leaves is very rapid : they are six or eight inches broad, 

borne on long petioles, alternate, somewhat fleshy, smooth and 

of a pleasing green color. They are divided into three lobes, of 

which the middle one is horizontally notched at the summit, and 

the two lower ones are rounded at the base. The flowers bloom 

in June or July. They are large, brilliant, and on detached 

trees very numerous, variegated with different colors, among 

which yellow predominates : they have an agreeable odor, and, 

surrounded by luxuriant foliage, they produce a fine effect. 

The fruit is composed of a great number of thin, narrow scales, 

attached to a common axis, and forming a cone two or three 

inches in length. Each cone consists of sixty or seventy seeds, 

of which never more than a third part are productive. For ten 

years before the tree begins to yield fruit, almost all the seeds are 

unproductive, and on large trees, those from the highest branches 

are the best. 



204 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

The bark of this tree, till the trunk exceeds seven or eight 
inches in diameter, is smooth and even : it afterwards begins to 
crack, and the furrow and the thickness of the bark are 
proportioned to the size and to the age of the tree. The heart 
of the perfect wood is yellow, approaching to a lemon color, and 
its alburnum is white. Though this tree is classed as a light 
wood, it is much heavier than the poplars ; its grain is equally- 
fine and more compact, and the wood is easily wrought and 
polishes well. It is found strong and stiff enough for uses that 
require great solidity. The heart, when separated from the sap 
and perfectly seasoned, long resists the influence of the air, and 
is said to be rarely attacked by worms. Its greatest defect, 
when employed in wide boards and exposed to the weather, is 
its liability to shrink and warp by the alternations of .dryness and 
moisture : but this defect is in a great measure compensated by 
its other properties. The nature of the soil has so striking an 
influence upon the color and upon the quality of this tree, that 
the mechanics who employ it, distinguish it by the names of 
JVhite Poplar and Yellow Ponlar, The external appearance 
which mark these varieties are so equivocal, that it can be 
ascertained to which a tree belongs only by cutting it. It is 
known in general that the white poplar grows in dry, gravelly 
and elevated places : it is recognized too by its branchy summit, 
and by the small proportion which the light yellow heart bears 
to the sap. The grain also is coarser and harder, and the wood 
decays more speedily ; hence it is always selected when the 
other variety can be obtained. The yellow poplar possesses 
every quality requisite to fit it for a great variety of uses, but we 
shall mention only some of the most common. In many parts of 
the United States it is employed for constructing the frames of 
houses and for shingles, and is considered as the best substitute 
for the pine, red cedar and the cypress. It is also sawn into boards, 
of which are made the panels of doors and of wainscots, and the 
mouldings of chimney pieces j they are exclusively used for the 
panels of coaches and chaises. When perfectly dry, they receive 
paint well, and admit of a brilliant polish. A large quantity of 
this wood is likewise employed in the manufacture of trunks 



DENDROLOGY. 



205 



which are covered with skins, and of bedsteads ; as it is easily- 
wrought in the lathe, and is very light, it is much used for 
wooden bowls. It is also employed for the rails of rural fence, 
for the construction of bridges, and for the felloes of large mill 
wheels. In fine, it affords excellent charcoal, which is employed 
by smiths in districts that furnish no fossile coal. The cellular 
integument of the bark of this tree, the bark of the branches, 
and still more the bark of the roots, has an agreeable smell and 
a very bitter taste, and is very pungent : when powdered it is 
employed as a tonic, stimulant in intermittents and chronic 
rheumatism : given in substance to horses, appear to be a pretty 
certain remedy for worms. 

MAGNOLIA. 



Polyandria Polygynia. Linn. Magnoliacese. Juss. Tonic, aperient. 

Cucumber Tree. Magnolia acuminata. 

In all parts of the United 
States where this tree is 
found, it is known only by 
the name of Cucumber Tree. 
It is a beautiful vegetable, 
equal in height and in diam- 
eter to the big laurel. The 
most northern point, at which 
this tree grows is near the 
falls of Niagara, in latitude 
43°. It abounds along the 
whole tract of the Allegha- 
nies, to their termination in 
Georgia, over a distance of 
900 miles. It is also found 
on the Cumberland Moun- 
tains. The situations pecu- 
liarly adapted to its growth are the declivities of mountains, 
narrow valleys and the banks of torrents, where the air is 




PLATE Hit. 
Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. A cone with seeds. 



206 STLVA AMERICANA. 

constantly moist, and where the soil is deep and fertile. At the 
distance of forty or fifty miles from the mountains, either way, 
this tree is met with only accidentally upon the steep banks of 
rivers, where the atmosphere is constantly refreshed by the 
evaporation from their surface. We may conclude then that this 
tree is a stranger to all parts north of the river Hudson, and to 
all the Atlantic parts of the United States, to the distance of 100, 
150 and 200 miles from the sea ; the nature of the soil, and the 
extreme. heat of the climate in summer being utterly uncongenial 
to its growth. It is also rare in the parts of Kentucky and West 
Tennessee which are most remote from the mountains, where 
the face of the country is less uneaven. 

The cucumber tree sometimes exceeds 80 feet in height, 
with a diameter of three or four feet. The trunk is jperfectly 
straight, of an uniform size and often destitute of branches for 
two-thirds of its length. The summit is ample and regularly 
shaped, and the tree is one of the finest in the American forests. 
The leaves are six or seven inches long, and three or four inches 
broad, upon old trees ; upon saplings growing in moist places, 
they are, sometimes twice as large. Their form is oval, entire 
and very acuminate ; they fall in the autumn and are renewed 
in the spring. The flowers open in May and are five or six 
inches in diameter, bluish and sometimes white with a tint of 
yellow. They have a feeble odor, but as they are large and 
numerous, they have a fine effect in the midst of the superb 
foliage. The cones or fruit are about three inches long, and 
eight or ten lines in diameter, of nearly a cylindrical shape, and 
often a little larger at the summit than at the base. They are 
convex on one side and concave on the other, and when green 
they nearly resemble a young cucumber, whence the tree has 
derived its name. The cells are arranged as in the other species 
of the genus, and each of them contains one rose-colored seed, 
which, before it escapes, remains suspended like those of the 
great and small laurels. 

On old stocks the bark of this tree is grayish and deeply 
furrowed. The perfect wood is soft and of a yellowish brown 
color : it is fine-grained and susceptible of a brilliant polish. 



DENDROLOGY. 207 

Being a rare tree, it is only accidentally employed in the arts. 
Sawn into boards, it serves in joinery for the interior of wooden 
houses, and, for its size and lightness, it is selected for large 
canoes. Most of the inhabitants of the country bordering on the 
AUeghanies gather the cones of this tree about midsummer, when 
they are half ripe, and steep them in whiskey : a glass or two of 
this liquor, which is extremely bitter, they habitually take in the 
morning, as a preservative against autumnal fevers. 



Long-Leaved Cucumber Tree. Magnolia auriculata. 

This species of Magnolia is remarkable for the beauty of its 
foliage and for the size of its flowers and the fragrance of their 
odor. It appears to be particularly confined to that tract of the 
AUeghanies which traverse the Southern States, at the distance 
of nearly 300 miles from the sea. It is however sometimes 
found on the steep banks of the rivers which rise in these lofty 
mountains, and which on one side roll their waters to the sea, 
and on the other flow to meet the Ohio, after traversing 
Kentucky and Tennessee. It is profusely multiplied on the 
steepest part of the Great Father Mountains, Black and Iron 
Mountains of North Carolina. It is designated by the names of 
Long-Leaved Cucumber Tree, and of Indian Physic. The soil 
of these mountains, which is brown, deep and of an excellent 
quality, is peculiarly favorable to its growth, and it multiplies 
spontaneously with the greatest facility. 

This tree grows to the height of 40 or 45 feet, with a diameter 
of 12 or 15 inches. Its trunk is straight and well shaped, and 
often undivided for half of its length ; its limbs, widely spread 
and sparingly ramified, give to this tree, when stript of its leaves, 
so peculiar an air, that it is readily distinguished. The leaves 
are of a light-green color, of a fine texture, eight or nine inches 
long, and from four to six inches broad ; on young and vigorous 
trees they are often one third or even one half longer. They 
are smooth on both surfaces, acuminate at the summit, widest 
near the top and narrowest towards the bottom. The base is 



208 ■ SYLVA AMERICANA. 

divided into rounded lobes, whence is derived the specific name 
of auriculata. The flowers are three or four inches in diameter, 
of a fine white color, of an agreeable odor, and situated at the 
extremity of the young shoots, which are of a purplish red dotted 
with white. The flowers open in April or May, and are suc- 
ceeded by oval cones, three or four inches long, and, like those 
of the umbrella tree, of a beautiful rose color when ripe. Each 
cell contains one or two red seeds. 

The wood is soft, spongy, very hght, and unfit for use. The 
bark is gray, and always smooth even on the oldest trees. When 
the epidermis is removed, the cellular integument, by contact 
with the air, instantly changes from white to yellow. The bark 
has an agreeable aromatic odor, and an infusion of it in some 
spirituous liquor is employed as an excellent sudorific in 
rheumatic affections. 

Heart-Leaved Cucumber Tree. JMagnolia cor data. 

This species of MagnoHa, which in its general appearance and 
in the form of its fruit, very nearly resembles the cucumber tree, 
has been confounded with it by the inhabitants of the regions in 
which it grows ; from the cordiform shape of hs leaves we have 
adopted the name of Heart-Leaved Cucumber Tree. The banks 
of the river Savannah in Upper Georgia, and those of the streams 
which traverse the back parts of South Carolina, are the native 
places of this tree. The soil in which it generally grows is a 
sandy loam. 

This tree is 40 or 50 feet in height, and 12 or 15 inches in 
diameter. Its trunk is straight and covered with a rough and 
deeply-furrowed bark, very much resembling that of the sweet 
gum and of the young white oak. Its leaves which are borne 
upon long petioles, are from four to six inches in length, from 
three to five inches wide, smooth and entire. The flowers which 
appear in April, are yellow, with the interior of the petal 
longitudinally marked with several reddish hnes. The flowers 
though somewhat smaller than those of the cucumber tree, are 
nearly four inches in diameter. The cones are about three 



llliNDKOLOGY. 209 

inches long, and ten or twelve lines in thickness, of a cylindrical 
form, and of a similar construction to those of the other magnolias. 
The seeds also are similar In color and arrangement. 

The wood of this tree resembles, in every respect, that of the 
cucumber tree, from its softness and readiness to decay, it is not 
employed for any determinate use. 

Small Magnolia or White Bay. Magnolia glauca. 

This tree, though inferior in size to the big laurel, and less 
regularly formed, is interesting on account of its beautiful foliage 
and flowers. It is common in Gloucester, Massachusetts, 
and in Lower Jersey and becomes more so in proceeding towards 
the south. In the maritime part of the Southern States, in the 
Floridas and in Lower Louisiana, it is one of the most abundant 
among the trees which grow in wet grounds. It is found not far 
in the interior of the country, and in New York, Pennsylvania 
and Maryland, it disappears thirty or forty miles north of "the 
capitals of these states. In the Carolinas and Georgia, it grows 
only within the limits of the pine-barrens. In Philadelphia and 
New York and in their vicinity, this tree is called Magnolia, 
which denomination has entirely superseded those of Swamp 
Sassafras and Beaver Wood, which were in use among the 
Swedish settlers who first fixed themselves in the country. In 
the Southern States it is generally called White Bay or Sweet 
Bay. It grows most abundantly in swamps and marshes composed 
of a black and miry soil. 

This tree sometimes rises to the height of 40 feet, with a 
diameter of 12 or 14 inches ; but it does not ordinarily exceed 
25 or 30 feet, and it often fructifies at the height of five or six 
feet. The bark of this tree is smooth and grayish, and its trunk 
is always crooked and divided into a great number of divaricating 
branches. The leaves are five or six inches long, petiolated, 
alternate, oblong-oval and entire. They are ' of a dark, shining 
green above, and glaucous beneath, thus presenting an agreeable 
contrast in the color of the two surfaces. The leaves fall in 
autumn and are renewed early in the following spring. The 
27 „ 



210 



SVLVA AMERICANA. 



flowers, which are shigle and situated at the extremity of the 
branches, are two or three inches broad, white, and composed 
of several concave, oval petals- -T^ar Charleston in South 
Carolina, this tree blossoms in May and a month later in the 
neighborhood of Philadelphia and New York. The fruit is 
small, green and conical, composed of a great number of cellules, 
and varying in length from an inch to an inch and a half. When 
ripe, the seeds, which are of a scarlet color, burst their cells, 
and remain some days suspended without, by white, lax, slender 
filaments. 

The wood of this tree, which is of a white color and very 
light, is employed for no use in the arts. The bark of the roots 
has an aromatic odor and a bitter taste. Some of the inhabitants 
drink an infusion of it in brandy, as a slight sudorific for rheumatic 
affections. They also sleep the cones in spirituous liquor, 
which renders it very bitter ; they regard it as a preservative 
against autumnal fevers. 



Big Laurel. Magnolia grandijiora. 




PLATE LIV. 
Fig. 1. A leaf, l-'ip. 2. Atone. 



Of all the trees of North 
America, east of the Missis- 
sippi, the Big Laurel is the 
most remarkable for the 
majesty of its form, the 
magnificence of its foliage 
and the beauty of its flowers. 
It is first seen in the lower 
part of North Carolina, near 
the river Neuse, in the lati- 
tude of 35°; proceeding 
from this point it is found in 
the maritime parts of the 
Southern States and of the 
Floridas, and as far up the 
Mississippi as Natches, 300 
miles above New Orleans, 



DENDBOLOGY. ^11 



Which embraces an extent of 2000 miles. At Charleston in 
South Carolina, and in its vicinity, this tree is commonly called 
Large Magnolia; but it is more generally known m the country 
by the name of Big Laurel The French of Louisiana call it 
Laurier TuUpier. It grows only in cool and shady places 
where the soil, composed of brown mould, is loose, deep and 
fertile. These tracts lie contiguous to the great swamps, which 
are found on the borders of the rivers and in the midst of the 
pine-harrens, or form themselves a part of these swamps ; but they 
are never seen in the long and narrow marshes, called branch 
.tmmm, which traverse the barrens in every direction, and m 
which the miry soil is shallow, with a bed of white, quartzous 

sand beneath. 

The big laurel claims a place among the largest trees ot the 
United States. It sometimes, though rarely, reaches 90 feet in 
height, and two or three feet in diameter ; but its ordinary 
stature is from 60 to 70 feet. Its trunk is nearly straight, 
covered with a smooth grayish bark, resembhng that of the beech, 
and its summit nearly in the shape of a regular pyramid. Its 
leaves are entire, oval, sometimes acuminate and at others obtuse 
at the summit, six or eight inches long, and borne by short 
petioles They are evergreen, thick, coriaceous, and very 
brilliant on the upper surface. The flowers are white, of an 
agreeable odor, and from seven to twelve mches broad, ihey 
are larger than those of any other tree of the American forests, and 
• on detached trees they are commonly very numerous. Bloommg 
in the midst of rich foliage, they produce so fine an effect, that 
those who have seen the tree on its native soil agree in consider- 
ing it as one of the most beautiful productions of the vegetable 
kingdom. In Carolina, its flowers put forth in the month of 
May and are succeeded by fleshy, oval cones, about four mches 
in length, which are composed of a great number of cells. At 
the age 'of maturity, which is about the first of October, they 
open longitudinally, showing two or three seeds of a vivid red. 
The seeds soon after quit their cells, and for some days remain 
suspended without, each by a white filament attached to the 
bottom of the cell. The red, pulpy substance, which surrounds 



212 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

the Stone, decays and leaves it naked. The stone contains a 
white milky kernel. 

The wood of the big laurel is soft, and remarkable for its 
whiteness, which it preserves even after it is seasoned. It is 
said to be easily wrought and not liable to warp, but not durable 
when exposed to the weather : for this reason the boards are 
used only in joinery in the interior of buildings. In trees from 
fifteen to eighteen inches in diameter, there can be discerned no 
mark of distinction between the sap and the heart of this wood, 
except a deep, brown point, six or eight lines in diameter, in the 
centre of the trunk. 



Large-Leaved Umbrella Tree. Magnolia macrophylla. 

This Magnolia is the least muUiplied of the American species, 
and is rarely met with in the forests. On account of the resem- 
blance of its leaves to those of the umbrella tree, the two species 
have hitherto been confounded by the inhabitants of the districts 
in which they grow : we have, therefore given it the specific 
name of Large-Leaved Umbrella Tree, which is sufilcienily 
characterstic. It is found in small quantities on the mountains 
of North Carolina. West of the range, in Tennessee, it is more 
common, but even here only a few trees are found together, at 
intervals of forty or fifty miles. It delights in cool situations 
sheltered from the wind, where the soil is deep and fertile. 

The large-leaved umbrella tree arrives at the height of 30 or 
35 feet, with a diameter of four or five inches. The trunk is 
covered with a very smooth white bark, by which in the winter, 
when stript of its leaves, it is readily distinguished from the 
umbrella tree. At this season it differs also from the umbrella tree 
in its buds, which are compressed instead of being rounded at the 
end, and which are covered with a soft and silvery down. Of 
all this genus, this tree bears the largest leaves : some of them 
are 35 inches long and 9 or 10 inches broad. They are borne 
on petioles, short in comparison with the size of the leaves, and 
are of an oblong shape, pointed at the extremity, and cordiform 



DENDROLOGY. 213 

at the base : the color is light-green above, and glaucous beneath ; 
they fall in the autumn and reappear early in the spring. The 
flowers are white, and when full-blown are sometimes eight or 
nine inches in diameter : they are composed of six petals longer 
and broader than those of the umbrella tree. Within the flower, 
near the bottom of the petals, is a purple spot seven or eight 
lines in diameter. The flowers diffuse a fragrant odor, and their 
beauty is heightened by the luxuriant foliage which surrounds 
them. They bloom in June or July, and are succeeded by 
cones about four inches long, nearly cylindrical, and of a vivid 
rose color when arrived at maturity. In the arrangement of the 
cells and of the seeds, they resemble those of the umbrella tree 
and of the long-leaved cucumber tree.. 

The wood of this tree is softer and more porous than that of 
the umbrella tree, and is of no value in the arts. 



Umbrella Tree. Magnolia tripetala. 

The Umbrella Tree is first seen in the southern part of the 
state of New York ; but it is more multiplied farther south, and 
is common on some of the islands in the river Susquehannah 
and still more so in the Southern and Western States. It is 
found in the maritime parts of the Carolinas and of Georgia, and 
300 miles from the sea, on that part of the Alleghanies which 
traverse these states. The forests which cover the banks of the 
river Notahacky, in East Tennessee, may be particularly 
mentioned as abounding in the umbrella tree. It appears only 
in situations perfectly adapted to its growth, which are alwavs 
shady, and where the soil is deep, strong and fertile. 

The dimensions of the umbrella tree are such as to form a 
connecting link between the large shrubs and trees of the third 
order ; for though it sometimes rises to the height of 30 or 35 
feet, with a diameter of five or six inches, it rarely attains this 
size. Its leaves, which are thin, oval, entire and acuminate at 
both extremities, are eighteen or twenty inches long, and seven 
or eight inches broad ; they are often disposed in rays at the 



214 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



extremity of vigorous shoots, and thus display a surface of thirty 
inches in diameter : whence is derived the name of Umbrella 
Tree. The flowers open in May or June, and are seven or 
eight inches in diameter, white, composed of several oblong, 
concave petals, and situated at the extremity of the branches ; 
they are beautiful, though less regularly shaped and of a less 
agreeable odor than those of the other species of magnolia. The 
conical fruit is four or five inches long, and about two inches in 
diameter ; it ripens about the first of October, and is of a beautiful 
rose color, with seeds of a pale red. 

The wood of this tree is soft, porous and unfit for use. The 
bark on the trunk is gray, smooth and polished : if cut while 
green, it exhales a disagreeable odor. 



MALUS. 



Icosandria Pentagynia. Linn. Rosacese. Juss. Rrfrigerant, tonic, astringent. 
Crab Apple. Malus coronaria. 




PLATE LV. 
Fig. L Aleaf. Fig. 9. The fruit. 



The Crab Apple is found 
on both sides of the moun- 
tains, except in the state of 
Maine, Vermont and the 
upper part of New Hamp- 
shire. It appears to be most 
multiplied in the Middle 
States, and especially in the 
back parts of Pennsylvania 
and of Virginia. It abounds 
above all, in the glades, 
which is the name of a tract 
of land fifteen or eighteen 
miles, on the summit of the 
Alleghanies. It grows most 
favorably in cool and moist 
places, and on fertile soils. 



DENDROLOGY. 215 

The ordinary height of the crab apple tree is 15 or 18 feet, 
with a diameter of 5 or 6 inches ; but it is sometimes found 25 
or 30 feet high, and 12 or 15 inches in diameter. The leaves 
of this tree are oval, smooth on the upper surface, and when 
fully developed, very distinctly toothed : some of them are 
imperfectly trilobed. While young they have a bitter and 
slightly aromatic taste. Like the common apple tree, this species 
blooms very early in the spring. Its flowers are white, mingled 
with rose color, and are collected in corymbs ; they produce a 
beautiful effect, and diffuse a delicious odor, by which, in the 
glades where the tree is abundant, the air is perfumed at a great 
distance. The apples, which are suspended by short peduncles, 
are small, green, intensely acid, and very odoriferous. 

The wood of this tree is very compact, fine-grained and when 
dry is excellent fuel. Some farmers make cider of the fruit of 
this tree, which is said to be of a good quality : it also makes 
very fine sweetmeats, by the addition of a large portion of sugar. 
Successful experiments have been made of uniting this tree, by 
grafting, with the European species ; but the time is so long in 
bringing it to as high state of improvement that it cannot be done 
to much advantage. Perhaps it might be profitably cultivated 
for cider, but, aside from its utility in this way, it must be 
regarded only as a tree highly agreeable for the beauty of its 
flowers and for the sweetness of its perfume. 



216 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



M E S P I L U S. 

Icosaudria Pcutagynia. Linn. RosaceaB. Juss. Refrigerant, tunic, 
ustrinscnt. 




June Berry. Mespilus arhorea. 

With the exception of 
the maritime parts of the 
Carolinas and of Georgia, 
this tree is spread over the 
whole extent of the United 
States and of Canada ; hut 
it is most multiplied upon 
the Alleghany Mountains, 
and upon the elevated banks 
of the rivers which flow 
from them. In the northern 
section of the Union, it is 
called Wild Pear Tree and 
Sugar Plum, and in the 
Middle States, Tune Berry. 
In the vicinity of New York 
and Philadelphia, it appears 
to grow in preference in moist and shady situations, and along 
the margin of brooks and rivulets. In the Western Country, it 
is found in the midst of the forests among other trees. 

The greatest height of this tree does not exceed 35 or 40 feet, 
with a diameter of ten or twelve inches. Its trunk is covered 
with a bark resembhng that of the cherry tree. The leaves are 
two or three inches long, and alternately arranged. When 
beginning to open they are covered with a thick, silvery down, 
which disappears with their growth, and leaves them perfectly 
smooth on both sides. They are of a lengthened oval shape, of 
a delicate texture, and' finely denticulated. The flowers, which 
are white and pretty large, are disposed in long panicles at the 
summit of the branches ; they blow in the beginning of April, 
and are succeeded by small fruit of a purplish color and of an 



PLATE LVt. 

Fiji. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. The fmit. 



DENDROLOGY. 



217 



agreeable, sweet taste. This fruit is ripe in the beginning of 
June, before that of any other tree or shrub. 

The wood of the June berry is of a pure white, and exhibits 
no difference between the heart and the sap ; it is longitudinally 
traversed by small, bright, red vessels, which intersect each 
other and run together. This wood is applied to no particular 
use in the arts. 

MORUS. 

Monoecia Tetrandria. Linn. Urticeas. Juss. Tonic, anodyne. 



Red Mulberry. JMorus rubra. 

The nordiern extremity 
of Lake Champlain and the 
banks of the river Connecti- 
cut, may be assumed as the 
northern limits of this tree. 
As a temperate climate is 
iavorable to its increase, it 
is more multiplied farther 
south ; but in the Atlantic 
States it is proportionably 
less common than many 
other trees which still do 
not constitute the mass of 
the forests. In the lower 
part of the Southern States, 
it is much less frequently 
seen than at a distance from 
the sea, where the soil and vegetable productions wear a different 
character. It is most abundant in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Ohio, 
Kentucky and Tennessee, particularly on the banks of the 
Wabash, the Illinois and Missouri, which is attributable to the 
superior fertility of the soil. 

In situations favorable to the growth of the red mulberry, it 
attains the elevation of GO or 70 feet, with a diameter of two 
28 




PLATE LVn. 
Fig. 1. A leaf. Fis. 2. The fruit. 



218 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

feet. Its leaves are large, and sometimes entire, and at others 
divided into two or three lobes, romided, cordiform and dentic- 
ulated, of a dark green color, a thick texture and a rough, 
uneaven surface. The sexes are usually separate, though they 
are sometimes found upon the same tree. The male flowers 
form pendulous, cylindrical aments, about an inch in length ; the 
female blossoms arc small and scarcely apparent ; the fruit is of 
a deep red color, an oblong form and an agreeable, acidulous, 
sugary taste : it is composed by the union of a great number of 
small berries, each of which contains a minute seed. 

The trunk of the red mulberry is covered with a grayish bark 
more furrowed than that of the oaks and the hickories. The 
perfect wood is of a yellowish hue, approaching to lemon color. 
The concentric circles are distant and distinct ; the wood is, 
nevertheless, fine-grained and compact, though hghter than that 
of the white oak. It possesses strength and solidity, and, when 
perfectly seasoned, it is almost as durable as the locust, to which, 
by many persons, it is esteemed perfectly equal. At Philadelphia, 
Baltimore and in the more southern ports, as much of it as can 
be procured is employed for the upper and lower parts of the 
frame of vessels, for the knees, the floor limbers, and, in 
preference to every other wood, except locust, for trunnels. In 
South Carolina it is selected for the ribs of large boats. For 
posts it is almost as durable and as much esteemed as the locust. 
As the leaves of this species are thick, rough and hairy while 
young, they are improper for the food of silk worms, which feed 
with advantage only on the smooth, thin and tender foliage of 
the white and Chinese mulberry. 



nENDROLOGY. 



219 



NYSSA. 

Polygnmiii Dicccia. Linn. SantalaccBT. Juss. Sudorific, jnngnlivc, 
astringent. 



Tupelo. JVyssa aqnaticn. 

The Tupelo begins to 
appear in llie lower part of 
New Hampshire, where the 
climate is tempered by the 
vicinity of the sea, but it is 
most abundant in the south- 
ern parts of New York, New 
Jersey and Pennsylvania. 
It is called indiscriminately 
Tupelo, Gum Tree, Sour 
GumandPijyperidge. The 
first of these denominations 
is the most common, the 
second is wholly misapplied, 
as no self-condensing fluid 
distils from the tree, and the 
third is used only by the 
descendants of the Dutch settlers of New York. The tupelo 
grows only in wet grounds oa the borders of swamps and on the 
banks of rivulets and other waters. 

This tree seldom rises above 40 or 45 feet in height, with a 
diameter of 15 or 20 inches. lis limbs, which spring five or six 
feet from the ground, affect a horizontal direction : the shoots of 
the two preceding years are commonly simple, and widely 
divergent from the branches. The trunk is of an uniform size 
from its base : while it is less than ten inches in diameter the 
bark is not remarkable, but on full-grown and vigorous stocks it 
is diick, deeply furrowed, and, unlike the bark of any other tree, 
divided into hexigons, which are sometimes very regular. The 
leaves are three inches long, oboval, smooth, slightly glaucous 




PLATE LVFII. 

FiS. J.r.Vleaf. Fiir. 2. The fiiiit. 



220 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

beneath, alternate, and often united in bundles at the extremity 
of the young lateral shoots. The flowers are small, scarcely 
apparent, collected in bunches and supported by petioles one or 
two inches in length. They open in April or May. The fruit 
which is always abundant, is of a deep blue color, about the size 
of a pea, and attached in pairs. It is ripe in October, and 
persisting after the fall of the leaves, it serves for a part of the 
food of the red breasts in their autumnal migration to the south. 
The stone is compressed on one side, a little convex on the 
other, and longitudinally situated. 

The tupelo holds a middle place between trees with soft and 
those with hard wood. When perfectly seasoned the sap is of a 
slight reddish tint, and the heart of a deep brown. Of trees 
exceeding fifteen inches in diameter, more than half the trunk is 
"^^ hollow. The ligneous fibres which compose the body of trees 
in general are closely united, and usually ascend in a perpendic- 
ular direction. But the genus, which we are now considering, 
exhibits, on the contrary, a constant peculiarity of organization ; 
the fibres are united in bundles, and are interwoven like a braided 
cord ; hence the wood is extremely difficult to split, unless cut 
into short billets. This property gives it a decided superiority 
for certain uses ; in New York, New Jersey and particularly at 
Philadelphia, it is exclusively employed for the naves of wheels 
destined for heavy burthens. Wooden bowls are made of it 
which are heavier than those of poplar, but less liable to split. 
As a combustible it is esteemed for consuming slowly and 
diffusing a great heat. 



Sour Tupelo. JVyssa capitata. 

The Sour Tupelo first makes its appearance on the river 
Ogeechee, near the road from Savannah to Sudbury, and in going 
southward it is seen in every favorable situation. It is said that 
it exists in Lower Louisiana, which is probable from the analogy 
in soil and climate between the ancient Southern States and the 
country watered by the lower part of the Mississippi. In Georgia 



DENDROLOGY. 22L 

this tree is known by the name of Sou?- Tupelo and Wild Lime, 
the first of which we have preferred, though the last is more 
common, because this vegetable bears no resemblance to the 
Hme tree in the form of its leaves or flowers. 

This tree rarely exceeds 30 feet in height and a diameter of 
seven or eight inches. The leaves are five or six inches long, 
oval, rarely denticulated, of a light green above and glaucous 
beneath. The flowers are similar to those of the large tupelo, 
but the sexes are borne by separate stocks, and what is peculiarly 
remarkable, the male and female trees are easily distinguished 
by their general appearance when the leaves are fallen. The 
branches of the male are more compressed about the trunk, and 
rise in a direction more nearly perpendicular ; those of the female 
diffuse themselves horizontally and form a larger and rounder 
summit. The flowers open in • April or May. The fruit is 
supported by long petioles, and is from fifteen to eighteen lines 
in length, of a light red color and of an oval shape. It is thick- 
skinned, intensely acid, and contains, like that of the large tupelo, 
a large oblong stone deeply channelled on both sides. An 
agreeable acidulous beverage might be made of it ; but the lime 
tree which is found in the same country, is superior in the size 
and abundance of its fruit, and has, besides, the advantage of 
flourishing on barren, sunbeaten land. 

The wood of this tree is soft and unfit for any particular use 
in the arts. 



222 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



Large Tupelo. JSfyssa grandidentaia. 

This tree is the most 
remarkable of its genus for 
height and diameter. It is 
a stranger to the Northern 
and Middle States, and is 
found only in the lower 
part of the Carolinas, of 
Georgia and of East Florida, 
where it is designated by 
the name of Large Tiipelo. 
It is said to abound also in 
Lower Louisiana on the 
banks of the Mississippi, 
where it is called Wild Olive. 
In fine, it exists in all parts 
of the United States which 
produce the long-leaved pine. 
It grows most luxuriantly on the banks of rivers that are frequently 
inundated, and in swamps where the soil is deep and fertile. 

The large tupelo, in favorable situations attains the elevation 
of 70 or 80 feet, with a diameter of 15 or 20 inches immediately 
above its conical base and six or seven feet from the ground. 




PLATE LIX. 
Fig. 1. A leaf. Fi!;. 2. Tlie fiuit. 



This size continues uniform to the height of 25 or 30 feet 



at 



the surface the trunk is eight or nine feet thick, which is a greater 
disproportion than is observed in the other species. The leaves 
are commonly five or six inches long and two or three inches 
broad : on young and thriving stocks they are of twice these 
dimensions. They are of an oval shape, and are garnished with 
two or three large teeth irregularly placed, and not opposite, 
like those of other leaves. At their unfolding in the spring they 
are downy, but they become smooth on both sides as they 
expand. The flowers are disposed in bunches, are of a greenish 
color and open in April ov May. They are succeeded by a fruit 
of considerable size and of a deep blue complexion, of which the 
stone is depressed and very distinctly striated. 



liENDROLOGY. 



223 



The wood of the large tupelo is extremely light and softer 
than that of any other tree of the United States. In the 
arrangement of its fibres it resembles the other species of the 
genus. The only use to which it is applied is for bowls and 
trays, for which it is well adapted, as it is wrought with great 
facility. Its roots, also, are tender and light, and are sometimes 
employed by fishermen to buoy up their nets. Bruised in water 
its fruit yields a fine purple juice whose color is tenacious ; but 
the quantity is too minute to afford resources in dyeing. 



Black Gum. J\yssa sylvatica. 

On the banks of the 
Schuylkill and in the vicinity 
of Philadelphia may be as- 
sumed as the northern boun- 
dary of this tree ; though it 
is common in the woods on 
the road from Philadelphia 
to Baltimore. In all the 
more southern states, both 
cast and west of the Alle- 
ghanies, it is more or less 
multiplied, as the soil is 
more or less favorable to its 
growth. It is designated by 
the name of Black Gum, 
Yellow Gum and Sour Gum, 
none of which is founded 
upon any of its characteristic properties ; but as they have become 
sanctioned by use, however ill-chosen, we have adopted the first, 
which is the most common. The vegetation of this tree exhibits 
a remarkable singularity : in Maryland, Virginia and the Western 
States, where it grows on high level grounds, with the oaks and 
walnuts, it is distinguished by no peculiarity of form : in the 
lower part of the Carolinas and of Georgia, where it is found 
only in wet places with the small magnolia, the red bay, the 




PLATE LX. 
Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2 The fruit. 



224 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

loblolly bay and the water oak, it has a pyramidical base 
resembling a sugar loaf. A trunk 18 or 20 feet high and seven 
or eight inches in diameter at the surface, is only two or three 
inches thick a foot from the ground ; these proportions, however, 
vary in different individuals. 

The black gum is much superior in size to the tupelo, being 
frequently 60 or 70 feet in height and 18 or 20 inches in 
diameter. The bark of the trunk is whitish and similar to that 
of the white oak. The leaves are five or six inches long, 
alternate, entire, of an elongated, oval form, and borne by short 
and downy petioles. The flowers open in April or May, are 
small, not conspicuous, and collected in bunches. The fruit is 
of a deep blue color, and of a lengthened oval shape, and contains 
a slightly convex stone, longitudinally striated on both sides. 

The wood of this tree is fine-grained but tender, and its fibres 
are interwoven and collected in bundles, an arrangement 
characteristic of the genus. The alburnum of stocks growing 
upon dry and elevated lands is yellow. Throughout the greater 
part of Virginia this wood is employed for the naves of coach 
and waggon wheels : at Richmond, Baltimore, Philadelphia, etc. 
it is preferred for hatters' blocks, as being less liable to split : in 
the Southern States it is used in the rice mills for the cylinder 
which receives the cogs : it is also chosen by shipwrights for the 
cap, or the piece which receives the topmast. 



DENDROLOGY. 



225 



OLE A. 



DiandriaMonogynia. Linn. Jasminece. Juss. Tonic, secernant, stiviulant. 

Devil Wood. Olea americana. 

This tree belongs exclu- 
sively to the Southern States, 
the Floridas and I^ovver 
Louisiana ; towards the north 
it is not found beyond Nor- 
folk in Virginia, and, like 
the live oak and the cabbage 
tree, is confined to the sea 
shore, being rarely found 
even at a small distance 
within the country. It grows 
in soils and exposures ex- 
tremely different : on the 
sea shore it springs with the 
live oak in the most barren 
and sultry spots, and in other 
places it is seen with the big 
laurel, the umbrella tree, the sweet gum, etc, in cool, fertile and 
shaded situations. 

This tree, or to speak more accurately, this large shrub, is 
sometimes 30 or 35 feet high, and 10 or 12 inches in diameter : 
but this size is extraordinary ; it commonly fructifies at the height 
of 8 10 or 12 feet. The bark which covers the trunk is smooth 
and grayish. The leaves are four or five inches long, opposite 
and lanceolate, entire at the edge, smooth and brilliant on the 
upper surface, and of an agreeable hght green. They are 
evergreen, or at least are partially renewed once in four or 
five years. The fertile and barren flowers are on separate trees : 
they are very small, strongly scented, of a pale yellow, and 
axillary, or situated between the petiole and the leaves and 
branches. The season of flowering in the neighborhood of 
29 




PLATE LXl. 
Fi". 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. 



The fruit. 



226 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

Charleston, South Carolina, is about the end of April. The 
fruit is round, and about twice as large as a common pea. When 
ripe, it is of a purple color, approaching to blue, and consi§ts of 
a hard stone thinly coated with pulp. As it remains attached to 
the branches during a part of the winter, its color forms, at this 
season, an agreeable contrast with the foliage. 

The wood of this tree has a fine and compact grain, and when 
perfectly dry it is excessively hard and very difficult to cut and 
split : hence is derived the name of Devil Wood. It is, 
notwithstanding, neglected in use. On laying bare the cellular 
integument of the bark, its natural yellow hue changes instanta- 
neously to a deep red, and the wood by contact with the air, 
assumes a rosy complexion. 

PAVIA. 

Hexaudria Monogynia. Linn. Hippocastanete. Juss. ^slringeni. 

Large Buckeye. Pavia lutea. 

The Yellow Pavia, or Large Buckeye is first observed on the 
Alleghany Mountains in Virginia near the 39th degree of latitude; 
it becomes more frequent by following the chain towards the 
south-west, and is most profusely multiplied in the mountainous 
districts of the Carolinas and of Georgia. It abounds also upon 
the rivers that rise beyond the mountains and flow through the 
western parts of Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee to meet the 
Ohio. It is much less common along the streams which have 
their source east of the Alleghanies, and which, after watering 
the Carolinas and Georgia, discharge themselves into the Ocean. 
This species may be considered then as a stranger to the Atlantic 
States, with the exception of a tract thirty or forty miles wide in 
the Southern States, as it were beneath the shadow of the moun- 
tains. It is here called Big Buckeye, to distinguish it from the 
Pavia rvhra, which does not exceed eight or ten feet in height, 
and which is called Small Buckeye. The situations most favorable 
to the growth of this tree are the declivities of mountains where 
the soil is generally loose, deep and fertile. 



DENDROLOGY. 227 

The large buckeye attains the height of 60 or 70 feet, with a 
diameter of three or four feet. The leaves are united to the 
number of five, at the end of a common petiole of considerable 
length. They are lanceolate, pointed at the summit, serrate and 
slightly furrowed. The flowers, of a light, agreeable yellow, are 
upright and disposed in bunches at the end of the shoots of the 
saiBC season. They open in June. The numerous bunches of 
flowers contrasted with the fine foliage, lend a highly ornamental 
appearance to the tree. The fruit is contained in a fleshy, oval 
capsule, which is often gibbous, and whose surface, unlike that 
of the horse chesnut of Asia and of the American horse chesnut, 
is smooth. Each capsule contains two seeds, or nuts, of an 
equal size, flat upon one side and convex on the other. They 
are larger and lighter colored tlian those of the common horse 
chesnut, and, like them are not eatable. 

The wood of this tree, from its softness and want of durability, 
can subserve to no useful purpose. 

Ohio Buckeye or 
American Horse Chesnut. Pavia ohioensis. 

This species of Horse Chesnut is unknown in the Atlantic 
parts of the United States. It is found only beyond the mountains, 
and particularly on the banks of the Ohio, where it is very 
common. It is called Buckeye by the inhabitants, but as this 
name has been given to the Pavia lutea, we have denominated 
it Ohio Buckeye, because it is most abundant on the banks of 
this river, and have prefixed the synonyme of American Horse 
Chesnut, because it is proved to be a proper horse chesnut by 
its fruit, which is prickly like that of the Asiatic species, instead 
of being smooth like that of the Pavia. 

The ordinary stature of this tree is 10 or 12 feet, but it 
sometimes equals 30 or 35 feet in height, and 12 or 15 inches 
in diameter. The leaves are palmated, and consist of five 
leaflets parting from a common centre, unequal in size, oval- 
acuminate, and irregularly toothed. The entire length of the 
leaf is nine or ten inches, and its breadth six or eight inches. 
The bloom of this tree is brilliant : its flowers appear early 



228 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



in the spring, and are collected in numerous white bunches. The 
fruit is of the same color with that of the common horse chesnut 
and of the large buckeye, and of about half the size : it is 
contained in fleshy, prickly capsules, and is ripe in the beginning 
of autumn. 

On the trunk of the largest trees the bark is blackish, and the 
cellular integument is impregnated with a venomous and disa- 
greeable odor. The wood is white, soft, and wholly useless. 



P I N C K N E Y A. 

Pentandria JVIonon-ynia. Linn. RubiactE. Juss. IVeak tonic, ajicrient. 

Georgia Bark. Pinckneya pubens. 

This tree, still more inter- 
esting by the properties of 
its bark, than by the elegance 
of its flowers and of its foliage, 
is indigenous to the most 
southern parts of the United 
States. The situation most 
favorable to its growth is a 
cool, shady exposure with a 
rich and fertile soil. 

The Georgia bark is a 
low tree, dividing itself into 
numerous branches, and 
rarely exceeding the height 
of 25 feet, and a diameter 
of five or six inches at the 
base. Its leaves are opposite, 
four or five inches long, of a light green color, and downy beneath, 
as are also the shoots to which they are attached. The flowers 
which are white with longitudinal, rose-colored stripes, are pretty 
large, and are collected in beautiful panicles at the extremity of 
the branches. Each flower is accompanied by a floral leaf, 
bordered with rose color near the upper edge. The capsules 




PLATE LXII. 

Fig: 1. A Jeaf. Fig. 2. A seed vessel. 



DENDROLOGY. 



229 



are round, compressed in the middle, and stored with a great 
number of small winged seeds. 

The wood of this tree is soft, and unfit for use in the arts ; but 
its inner bark is extremely bitter, and appears to partake of the 
febrifuo-e virtues of the Cinchona, for the inhabitants of the 
southern parts of Georgia employ it successfully in the intermitting 
fevers, which, during the latter part of summer and the autumn, 
prevail in the Southern States. A handful of the bark is boiled 
in a quart of water till the liquid is reduced one half and the 
infusion is administered to the patient. From the properties of 
the bark the Pinckneya has taken the name of Georgia Bark. 
This tree so nearly resembles that which produces the Peruvian 
vegetable, that some botanists have included them in the same 
genus. 

PINUS. 



Moncecia Monadelpliia 



Linn. Conifcrse. Juss. Expectorant, seceitiant, 
stimulant. 



Long-Leaved Pine. Pinus australis. 




PLATE Lxur. 
Fig. 1. A leaf. Pig. 9. A cone. Fig. 3. A aeed. 



This invaluable tree is 
known both in the countries 
which produce it, and in 
those to which it is exported, 
by different names : in the 
first it is called Long-Leaved 
Pine, Yellow Pine, Pitch 
Pine and Broom Pine ; in 
the Northern States, South- 
ern Pine and Red Pine; 
and in England and the 
West Indies, Georgia Pitch 
Pine. We have preferred 
the first denomination, be- 
cause this species has longer 
leaves than any other east- 
ward of the Mississippi, and 



230 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

because the names of Yelloio Pine and Pitch Pine, which are 
more commonly employed, serve in the Middle States to designate 
two species entirely distinct and extensively diffused. Towards 
the north this tree first makes its appearance near Norfolk in 
Virginia, where the pine-barrens begin. It seems to be especially 
assigned to dry, sandy soils, and it is found without interruption 
in the lower parts of the Carolinas, Georgia and the Floridas, 
over a tract of more than 600 miles long from north-east to 
south-west, and more than 100 miles broad from the sea towards 
the mountains of the Carolinas and Georgia. 

The mean stature of the long-leaved pine, is 60 or 70 feet 
with an uniform diameter of 15 or 20 inches for two-thirds of 
this height. Some stocks, favored by local circumstances, attain 
much larger dimensions, particularly in East Florida. The bark 
is somewhat furrowed, and the epidermis detaches itself in thin 
transparent sheets. The leaves are about a foot long, of a 
beautiful brilliant green, united to the number of three in the 
same sheath, and collected in bunches at the extremity of the 
branches : they are longer and more numerous on the young 
stocks. The buds are very large, white, fringed, and not 
resinous. The bloom takes place in April ; the male flowers form 
masses of divergent violet-colored aments about two inches long ; 
in drying they shed great quantities of yellowish pollen , which is 
diffused by the wind and forms a momentary covering on the 
surface of the land and water. The cones are very large, being 
seven or eight inches long, and four inches thick when open, and 
are armed with small, retorted spines. In the fruitful year they 
are ripe about the middle of October, and shed their seeds the 
same month. The kernel is of an agreeable taste, and is 
contained in a thin, white shell, surmounted by a membrane ; in 
every other species of American pine the shell is black. 

The wood of this tree contains but little sap ; trees fifteen 
inches in diameter three feet from the ground frequently have 
ten inches of heart. Many stocks of this size are felled for 
commerce, and none are received for exportation of which the 
heart is not ten inches in diameter when squared. The concentric 
circles in a trunk fully developed are close and at equal distances, 



DENDROLOGY. 231 

and the resinous matter, which is abundant, is more uniformly- 
distributed than in the other species ; hence the wood is stronger, 
more compact and more durable : it is, besides, fine-grained, 
and susceptible of a bright polish. These advantages give it a 
preference to every other pine j but its quality is modified by 
the nature of the soil in which it grows. In the vicinity of the 
sea, where only a thin layer of mould reposes upon the sand, it 
is more resinous than where the mould is five or six inches thick ; 
the stocks that grow upon the first-mentioned soil are called 
Pitch Pine, and the others Yelloiv Pine, as if they were distinct 
species. This wood subserves a great variety of uses in the 
Carolinas, Georgia and the Floridas : four-fifths of the houses 
are built of it, except of the roof, which is covered with the 
shingles of the cypress ; but in the country the roof is also of 
pine, and is renewed after fifteen or eighteen years. A vast 
consumption takes place for the inclosure of cultivated fields. In 
naval architecture this is the most esteemed of the pines : in the 
Southern States, the keel, the beams, the side planks and the 
pins by which they are attached to the ribs, are of this tree. 
For the deck it is preferred to the true yellow pine. In certain 
soils this wood contracts a reddish hue, and it is for that reason 
known in the dock yards of the Northern States by the name of 
Red Pine. Wood of this tint is considered best, and in the 
opinion of some shipwrights it is more durable on the sides of 
vessels, and less liable to injury from worms, than the oak. The 
value of this tree does not reside exclusively in its wood : it 
supplies nearly all the resinous matter used in the United States 
in ship building, and a large residue for exportation to the West 
Indies and Europe. 

The resinous product of the pine is of six sorts, namely, turpen- 
tine, scrapings, spirit of turpentine, rosin, tar and pitch. The last 
two are delivered in their natural state ; the others are modified 
by the agency of fire in certain modes of preparation. More 
particularly, turpentine is the sap of the tree obtained by making 
incisions in its trunk. It begins to distil about the middle of 
March, when the circulation commences, and flows with increasing 
abundance as the weather becomes warmer, so that July and 



232 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

August are the most productive months. When the circulation 
is abated by the chills of autumn, the operation is discontinued, 
and the remainder of the year is occupied in preparatory labors 
for the following season, which consist, first, in making the boxes. 
This is done in January and February : in the base of each tree, 
about three or four inches from the ground, and of preference on 
the south side, a cavity is formed, commonly of the capacity of 
three pints, but proportioned to the size of the trunk, of which it 
should occupy one fourth of the diameter ; on stocks of more 
than six feet in circumfei*ence, two, and sometimes four, boxes 
are made on opposite sides. Next comes the raking, or the 
clearing the ground at the foot of the trees from leaves and 
herbage, by which means they are secured from the fires that 
are often kindled in the woods by the carelessness of travellers 
and waggoners. If the flames gain the boxes already impregnated 
with turpentine, they are rendered useless, and others must be 
made. JYotching is merely making at the sides of the box two 
oblique gutters, about three inches long, to conduct into it the 
sap that exudes from the edges of the wound. In the interval 
of a fortnight, which is employed in this operation, the first boxes 
become filled with sap. A wooden shovel is used to transfer it 
to pails, which in turn are emptied into casks at convenient 
distances. To increase the product, the upper edge of the box 
is chipped once a week, the bark and a portion of the alburnum 
being removed to the depth of four concentric circles. The 
turpentine thus procured is the best, and is called pure dipping. 
The chippings extend the first year a foot above the box, and as 
the distance increases, the operation is more frequently repeated, 
to remove the sap coagulated on the surface of the wound. The 
closing of the pores, occasioned by continued rains, exacts the 
same remedy ; and it is remarked that the produce is less 
abundant in moist and cool seasons. After five or six years the 
tree is abandoned ; the upper edge of the wound becomes 
cicatrized, but the bark is never restored sufficiently for the 
renewal of the process. The scraping is a coating of sap which 
becomes solid before it reaches the boxes, and which is taken off 
in the fall and added to the last runnings. Large quantities of 



DENDROLOGY. 233 

spirits of turpentine are made in North Carolina : it is obtained 

by distilling the turpentine in large copper retorts, which are of 

an imperfect shape, being so narrow at the mouth as to retard 

the operation. Six barrels of turpentine are said to afford thirty 

gallons of the spirit. All the tar of the Southern States is made 

from dead wood of the long-leaved pine, consisting of trees 

prostrated by time or by the fire, of the summits of those that 

are felled for timber, and of limbs broken off by the ice which 

sometimes overloads the leaves. It is worthy of remark that the 

branches of resinous trees consist almost wholly of wood, of 

which the organization is even more perfect than in the body of 

the tree. As soon as vegetation ceases in any part of the tree, 

its consistence speedily changes ; the sap decays and ijie heart, 

already impregnated with resinous juice, becomes surcharged to 

such a degree as to double its weight in a year : the accumulation 

is said to be much greater after four or five years. To procure 

the tar, a kiln is formed in a part of the forest abounding in dead 

wood : this is first collected, deprived of the sap, and cut into 

billets two or three feet long and about three inches thick. The 

next step is to prepare a place for piling it : for this purpose a 

circular mound is raised, slightly declining from the circumference 

to the centre, and surrounded with a shallow ditch. The 

diameter of the pile is proportioned to the quantity of wood 

which it is to receive : to obtain one hundred barrels of tar, it 

should be eighteen or twenty feet wide. In the middle is a hole 

with a conduit leading to the ditch, in which is formed a 

receptacle for the resin as it flows out. Upon the surface of tlie 

mound, beaten hard and coated with clay, the wood is laid 

round in a circle like rays. The pile, when finished, may be 

compared to a cone truncated at two-thirds of its height and 

reversed, being twenty feet in diameter below, twenty-five or 

thirty feet above, and ten or twelve feet high. It is then strewed 

with pine leaves, covered with earth, and contained at the sides 

with a slight cincture of wood. This covering is necessary in 

order that the fire kindled at the top may penetrate to the 

bottom with a slow and gradual combustion ; if the whole mass 

was rapidly inflamed, the operation would fail and the labor in 

30 



234 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

part be lost : in fine, nearly the same precautions are exacted in 
the process as are observed in making charcoal. A kiln which is 
to afford one hundred or one hundred and thirty barrels of tar, 
is eight or nine days in burning. As the tar flows off into the 
ditch, it is emptied into casks of thirty gallons, which are made 
of the same species of wood. Pitch is tar reduced by evaporation : 
it should not be diminished beyond half its bulk to be of a good 
quality. 

New Jersey Pine. Pinus inops. 

The Jersey Pine has probably been so named from its 
abounding in the lower part of New Jersey, where the soil is 
meagre and sandy, and where it is often accompanied by the 
yellow pine. It is not, however, confined to this state, but it 
grows in Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky and Pennsylvania. In 
the last-mentioned state it is called Scrub Pine, and is seen 
wherever the soil is composed of argillaceous schistus, and is 
consequently poor. This tree is not found north of the river 
Hudson, nor in the Carolinas and Georgia. 

The Jersey pine is sometimes 30 or 40 feet high and 12 or 
15 inches in diameter, but it rarely attains these dimensions. 
The trunk, which is clad in a blackish bark, tapers sensibly from 
the base to the summit, and half its length is occupied by limbs 
remote from each other. The leaves are united in pairs and are 
of a dark green, one or two inches long, flat on the inner face, 
stiff and scattered over the young branches, which are very 
flexible and smooth, while those of the other species are scaly. 
The wood of the annual shoots is observed to be of a violet tint, 
which is a character peculiar to this species and the yellow pine. 
The cones are about two inclies long and an inch in diameter at 
the base : they are attached by short, thick peduncles, and are 
armed with long, iirm spines, pointed and bent backwards ; they 
are usually single and directed towards the earth. The seeds 
are shed the first year of their maturity. 

The size of this tree forbids the useful employment of its 
wood, not to mention the disadvantage under which it exists of 



DENDROLOGY. 



236 



containing ""a large proportion of sap. In Kentucky a small 
quantity of tar is obtained from the heart and is consumed in the 
vicinity. Next to gray pine, this is the most uninteresting species 
of the United States. 




Yellow Pine. Pinus mitis. 

This tree is widely dif- 
fused in North America, and 
is known in different places 
by different names : in the 
Middle States, where it is 
abundant and in common 
use, it is called Yelloio Fine, 
in the Carolinas and Georgia, 
Spnice Pine, and more fre- 
quently Short-Leaved Pine. 
Towards the north, this 
species is not found beyond 
certain districts of Connec- 
ticut, Massachusetts and 
New Hampshire. It is 
multiplied in the lower part 
_ 1. A leaf. Fig 2. A cone. Fig. 3. A seed. ^^ j^^^^ Jersey, and still 

more so on the eastern shore of Maryland and in the lower parts 
of Virginia, where it is seen only upon arid soils. It is also met 
with in New York, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, the Carolinas, 
Georgia, East Tennessee, the Floridas and probably in Louisiana. 
In these regions it generally grows on spots consisting of beds of 
clay mingled with gravel. 

In New Jersey and in Maryland this tree is 50 or 60 feet 
high, and is commonly of an uniform diameter of 15 or 18 
inches for two-thirds of this distance ; in Virginia and the upper 
part of the Carolinas there are stocks of nearly the same height 
and of twice this diameter. The leaves are four or five inches 
long, fine, flexible, hollowed on the inner face, of a dark green, 
and united in pairs ; sometimes, from luxuriancy of vegetation. 



PLATE LXtV. 



Fi 



236 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

three are found together on the shoots of the same season, but 
never upon the older branches. The cones are oval, armed 
with fine spines, and smaller than those of any other American _ 
pine, since they scarcely exceed an inch and a half in length 
upon old trees. The seeds are cast the first year. 

The concentric circles of the wood are six times as numerou s 
in a given space as those of the pitch and loblolly pines. In 
trunks fifteen or eighteen inches in diameter, there are only two 
inches, or two and a half, of sap, and still less in such as exceed 
this size. The heart is fine-grained and moderately resinous, 
which renders it compact without great weight. Long experience 
has proved its excellence and durability. It is employed for 
floors of houses, for the casings of doors and wainscots and for 
window sashes. Immense quantities are used in the dockyards 
of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, etc., for the decks, masts, 
yards, beams and cabins of vessels, and it is considered as next 
in durability to the long-leaved pine. The wood from New 
Jersey and Maryland is fine-grained, more compact, and stronger 
than that from the river Delaware, which grows upon richer lands. 



Table Mountain Pine. Pinus pungens. 

Table Mountain, in North Carolina, one of the highest 
points of the Alleghanies, at the distance of nearly 300 miles 
from the sea, has given its name to this species of pine, which 
covers it almost exclusively, though it is rare on the neighboring 
summits. Nor is it found in any other partx)f the United States. 

The Table Mountain pine is 40 or 50 feet in height with a 
proportional diameter. The buds are resinous, and the leaves, 
which grow in pairs, are thick, stiff and about two inches and a 
half in length. The cones are about three inches long and two 
inches in diameter at the base, of a regular form and a light 
yellow color : they are sessile, and often united to the number 
of four. Each scale is armed with a strong, ligneous spine, two 
lines in length, widened at the base, and bent towards the summit 
of the cone. 



DENDROLOGY. 



237 



This tree divides itself into numerous ramifications. It is 
appropriated to no particular use, but in the mountains of North 
Carolina its turpentine is preferred to every other as a dressing 
for wounds. 




Pitch Pine. Pinus rigida. 

This species is known in 
all the United States by the 
name of Pitch Pine, and 
sometimes in Virginia by 
thRtof Black Pine. Except 
the maritime parts of the 
Atlantic States, and the fertile 
regions west of the Allegha- 
ny Mountains, it is found 
throughout the United States, 
but most abundantly upon 
the Atlantic coast, where 
the soil is diversified but gen- 
erally meagre. In Maine, 
New Hampshire and Ver- 
mont it grows almost exclu- 
sively in light, even, pliable, 
sandy soils. 
In the lower part of New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland, 
it is frequently seen in the large swamps filled with the red cedar, 
which are constantly miry or covered with water. In such 
situations it is 70 or 80 feet high and from 20 to 28 inches in 
diameter, and exceeds the surrounding trees both in bulk and 
elevation. In Pennsylvania and Virginia, on the Alleghanies, it 
grows to the height of 35 or 40 feet with a diameter of 12 or 15 
inches. And in Maine and Vermont, it seldom grows more than 
20 or 25 feet in height, and its slender branches, laden with 
puny cones, evince the feebleness of its vegetation. The buds 
of this tree are always resinous, and its triple leaves vary in 
length from an inch and a half to seven inches, according to the de- 



Fig. 1. A leaf. 



PLATE LXV. 
Fig. 2. A seed. 



Fig. 3. A cone. 



238 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

gree of moisture of the soil. The aments are an inch long, straight 
and winged like those of the pond pine. The size of the cones 
depend upon the nature of the soil, and varies from less than an 
inch to more than three inches in length ; they are of a pyramidal 
shape, and each scale is pointed with an acute spine about two 
inches long. Wherever these trees grow in masses the cones 
are dispersed singly over the branches, and they release the 
seeds the first autumn after their maturity ; but on solitary stocks, 
exposed to the buffeting of the winds, the cones are collected in 
groups of four, five or even a larger number, and remain closed 
for several years. 

The pitch pine has a thick, blackish, deeply-furrowed bark. 
It is remarkable for the number of its branches, which occupy 
two-thirds of its trunk and render the wood extremely knotty. 
The concentric circles are widely distant, and three fourths of 
the larger stocks consist of sap. On mountains and gravelly 
lands, the wood is compact, heavy and surcharged with resin, 
whence is derived the name Pitch Pine : in sy^^amps, on the 
contrary, it is light, soft, and composed almost wholly of sap ; it 
is then called Sap Pine. These essential defects place it below 
the yellow pine, but as that species is constantly diminishing by 
the vast consumption in civil and naval architecture, it is partially 
replaced by the pitch pine, the poorer variety of which is used 
for the boxes employed in packing certain sorts of merchandize, 
such as soap, candles, etc. On some parts of the Alleghanies, 
houses are built of it, and the wood if not covered with paint, is 
recognized by its numerous knots. It is thought better than the 
yellow pine for floors that are frequently washed, as the resin 
with which it is impregnated renders it firmer and more durable. 
It serves perfectly well for ship pumps, for which purpose trees 
with very little heart are preferred. It is much esteemed for 
fuel by bakers and brick makers. From the most resinous stocks 
is procured the lamp black of commerce. 



DENDROLOGY. 



239 



Red OB Norway Pine. Pinus rubra. 




Fig. 1. A leaf. 



PLATE LXVI. 
Fig. 2. A cone. 



Fig. 3. A seed. 



This tree is called by the 
French inhabitants of Can- 
ada Pin rouge, red pine, 
and the name has been 
preserved in the United 
States. In the Northern 
States it is called JVorway 
Pine, though differing totally 
from that tree, which is a 
species of spruce. The 
first of these denominations 
should be adopted by the 
Americans, especially as it 
is founded on a distinguish- 
ing character of the sjDccies, 
which will be hereafter 
noticed. The most north- 
ern points at which this vegetable grows, is near Lake St. John 
in Canada in the 48th degree of latitude. Towards the south it 
is not seen beyond Pennsylvania, in latitude 41° 30' j and it is 
rare in all the country south of the river Hudson. It is found in 
Nova Scotia, where it bears the same name as in Canada, and 
also that of Yellow Pine. It is said likewise to exist beyond 
Lake Superior. Like most species of this genus, it grows in 
dry and sandy soils. 

When the luxuriance of this tree is not checked, it attains the 
height of 70 or 80 feet with a diameter of two feet. It is chiefly 
remarkable for the uniform size of its trunk for two-thirds of its 
length. The bark upon the body of the tree is of a clearer red 
than upon that of any other species in the United States ; hence 
is derived its popular name, Red Pine. The leaves are of a 
dark green, five or six inches long, united in pairs and collected 
in bunches like those of the long-leaved pine, instead of being 
dispersed like those of the Jersey pine. The female flowers are 



240 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

bluish during the first months after their appearance, and the 
coneS) which are destitute of thorns and which shed their seeds 
the first year, are about two inches long, rounded at the base 
and abruptly pointed. 

The concentric circles are crowded in the red pine, and the 
wood, when wrought, exhibits a fine, compact grain. It is 
rendered heavy by the resinous matter with which it is impreg- 
nated, and in Canada, Nova Scotia and the state of Maine, it is 
highly esteemed for strength and durability, and is frequently 
employed in naval architecture, especially for the deck of vessels, 
for which it furnishes planks forty feet long without knots. Stript 
of the sap it makes very lasting pumps. 



Gray Pine. Pinus rupestris. 

This species is found farther northward than any other 
American pine. In Nova Scotia and the state of Maine, where 
it is rare, it is called Scrub Pine, and in Canada, Gray Pine. 

In the vicinity of Hudson's Bay and a few degrees farther 
south this tree disappears almost entirely. Here and there, in 
the intervals of the rocks, are seen a few individuals of this 
species of pine, which fructify and even exhibit the appearances 
of decrepitude at the height of three feet. One hundred and 
fifty miles farther south its vegetation is more vigorous, but it is 
still not more than eight or ten feet high, and in Nova Scotia, 
where it is confined to the summit of the rocks, it rarely exceeds 
this stature. The leaves of this tree are united in pairs in the 
same sheath, but they are disseminated over the branches instead 
of being collected at the extremity, and are about an inch long, 
flat on the interior and rounded on the exterior face. The cones 
are commonly in pairs and are of a gray or ashy color, which has 
probably lent its name to the tree ; they are about two inches 
long, and have the peculiarity of always pointing in the same 
direction with the branches : they are besides remakable for 
naturally assuming an arching shape, which gives them the 
appearance of small horns. They are extremely hard, and do 



DENDROLOGY. 341 

not open to release the seeds before the second year. The 
Canadians find a speedy cure for obstinate colds in a diet drink 
made by boiling these cones in water. The wood of this tree is 
not used in any respect in the arts. 



Pond Pine. Pinus serotina. 

The Pond Pine frequently recurs in the maritime parts of the 
Southern States, but it is lost as it were among the long-leaved 
pines which cover these regions. It receives its specific name 
on account of its growing principally on the borders of ponds, 
and in swamps where the soil is black and miry. It sometimes 
grows in abandoned fields on the borders of swamps in dry, 
sandy soils. 

The ordinary size of this tree is 35 or 40 feet with a diameter 
of 15 or 18 inches. The leaves, united to the number of three, 
are five or six inches in length and a little more upon young 
stocks. The aments are straight, and six or eight lines long ; 
the cones are commonly opposite and in pairs two inches and a 
half in length, five inches and a half in circumference, and in 
form like an egg ; their scales are rounded at the extremity, and 
armed with fine, short spines which are easily broken off, so that 
in some instances no vestige is left of their existence. The cones 
arrive at maturity the second year, but do not release their seeds 
before the third or fourth. 

This tree is remarkable for the remoteness of its branches, 
which begin to spring upon the lower half of the stock j and 
more than half of the largest trunk consists of sap j for these 
reasons the species is useless in the arts. 



31 



242 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



White Pine. Pmus strohus. 



4^ W 




Fig. 1. A leaf. 



PLATK L,XViI. 
Fig. 2. A cone. Fig. 3. A seed. 



This species, one of the 
most interesting of the Amer- 
ican pines, is known in 
Canada and the United 
States by the name of White 
Pine, from the perfect white- 
ness of its wood when freshly 
exposed, and in New Hamp- 
shire and Maine by the 
secondary denominations of 
PumjjJcin Pine, Jlpple Pine 
and Sapling Pine, which are 
derived from certain acci- 
dental peculiarities. This 
tree is diffused, though not 
uniformly, over a vast extent 
of country; it is incapable 
of supporting intense cold, and still less extreme heat. It is first 
observed in the^north about 40 leagues from the mouth of the 
river Mistassin, which discharges itself into Lake St. John in 
Canada, in the latitude of 48"^ 50'. It appears to be most 
abundant between the 43d and 47th degrees of latitude ; farther 
south it is found in the valleys and on the declivities of the 
AUeghanies to their termination, but at a distance from the 
mountains on either side its growth is forbidden by the warmth 
of the climate. It is said with great probability to be multiplied 
near the source of the Mississippi which is in the same latitude 
with the state of Maine, the upper part of New Hampshire, 
Vermont, and the commencement of the St. Lawrence, where 
it attains its greatest dimensions. In these countries it is seen in 
very different situations, and it seems to accommodate itself to 
all varieties of soil except such as consist wholly of sand, and 
such are almost wholly submerged. The largest stocks are 
found in the bottom- of soft, pliable and fertile valleys, on the 



DElfDROLOGY. 243 

banks of rivers composed of deep, cool, black sand, and in 
swamps covered with a thick and constantly humid carpet of 
sphagnum. 

Near Norridgewock on the river Kennebeck, in one of the 
swamps, which is accessible only in midsummer, M. Michaux 
measured two trunks felled for canoes, of which one was 154 
feet long and 54 inches in diameter, and the other 142 feet long 
and 44 inches in diameter, at three feet from the ground. 
Mention is made in Belknap's History of New Hampshire of a 
white pine felled near the river Merimack, 7 feet 8 inches in 
diameter. M. Michaux likewise measured a stump near 
Hallowell, Maine, exceeding 6 feet in diameter : these enormous 
trees had probably reached the greatest height attained by the 
species, which is about 180 feet. But this ancient and majestic 
inhabitant of the North American forests is still the loftiest and 
most valuable of their productions, and its summit is seen at an 
immense distance aspiring towards heaven, far above the heads 
of the surrounding trees. The trunk is simple for two-thirds or 
three-fourths of its height, and the limbs are short and verticillate, 
or disposed in stages one above another to the top of the tree, 
which is formed of three or four upright branches seemingly 
detached and unsupported. In forests composed of other trees, 
where the soil is strong and proper for the culture of corn, as for 
example on the shores of Lake Champlain, it is arrested at a 
lower height and diffused into a spacious summit j but it is still 
taller and more vigorous than the neighboring trees. On young 
stocks not exceeding 40 feet in height the bark of the trunk and 
branches is smooth and even polished ; as the tree advances in 
age it splits and becomes rugged and gray, but does not fall off 
in scales like that of the other pines. The white pine is also 
distinguished by the sensible diminution of its trunk from the base 
to the summit, in consequence of which it is more difficult to 
procure sticks of great length and uniform diameter : this 
disadvantage, however, is compensated by its bulk and by the 
small proportion of alburnum. The leaves are five-fold, four 
inches long, numerous, slender, and of a bluish green : to the 
lightness and dehcacy of the foliage is owing the elegant appear- 



•244 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

ance of the young trees. The male aments are four or five Unes 
long, united to the number of five or six, and arranged Hke those 
of the loblolly and long-leaved pines : they bloom in the month 
of May, and turn reddish before they are cast. The cones 
are four or five inches long, ten lines in diameter in the middle, 
pedunculated, pendulous, somewhat arched, and composed of 
thin, smooth scales, rounded at the base. They open about the 
first of October to release their seeds, of which a part are left 
adhering to the turpentine that exudes from the scales. 

The wood of this species is employed in greater quantities and 

far more diversified uses than that of any other American pine ; 

yet it is not without essential defects ; it has Httle strength, gives 

a feeble hold to nails and sometimes swells by the hvunidity of 

the atmosphere. These properties are compensated however by 

others which give it a decided superiority ; it is soft, light, free 

of knots and easily wrought, is more durable, and less liable 

to split when exposed to the sun, furnishes boards of a great 

width, and timber of large dimensions, in fine, it is still abundant 

and cheap. It is observed that the influence of soil is greater 

upon resinous than upon leafy trees. The qualities of the white 

pine, in particular, are strikingly affected by it. In loose, deep, 

humid soils, it unites in the highest degree all the valuable 

properties by which it is characterized, especially lightness and 

firmness of texture, so that it may be smoothly cut in every 

direction ; hence the name Pumpkin Pine. On dry, elevated 

lands, its wood is firmer and more resinous, with a coarser grain 

and more distant concentric circles, and it is then called Sapling 

Pine, The wood of this tree is used for every species of 

ornamental work about building, for clap boards, and shingles, 

for looking glass and picture frames, for images in sculpture, the 

inside of mahogany furniture and of trunks, in cooperage and an 

endless variety of other purposes. It serves exclusively for the 

masts of the numerous vessels constructed in the Northern and 

Middle States. The principal superiority of these masts over 

those exported to England from Riga is their lightness; but 

they have less strength, and are said to decay more rapidly 

between decks and at the point of intersection of the yards : this 



DENDROLOGY. 



245 



renders the long-leaved pine superior to the white pine in the 
opinion of the greater part of American ship builders. The 
bowsprits and yards are also made of white pine. The wood is 
not resinous enough to furnish turpentine for commerce, nor 
would the labour of extracting it be easy, since this tree occupies 
exclusively tracts of only a few hundred acres, and is usually 
mingled in different proportions with the leafy trees. 



Loblolly Pine. Pinus tada. 



Throughout the lower 
parts of the Southern States 
this species is called Loblolly 
Pine, and sometimes White 
Pine in Virginia. Its most 
northern limit is at Freder- 
icksburgh, 230 miles south 
of Philadelphia. In the 
lower part of Virginia and 
in the districts of North 
Carolina situated north-east 
of the river Cape Fear, over 
an extent of nearly 200 
miles, it grows wherever the 
soil is dry and sandy. In 
the same parts of Virginia, 
it exclusively occupies lands 
that have been exhausted by cultivation, and forests of oak 
tracts of 100 or 200 acres are not unfrequently seen covered with 
thriving young pines. In the more Southern States it is the most 
common species after the long-leaved pine, but it grows only in 
branch swamps, or long, narrow marshes that intersect the pine- 
barrens, and- near the creeks and rivers, where the soil is of 
middling fertility and susceptible of improvement. 

The loblolly pine sometimes exceeds 80 feet in height, with a 
diameter of two or three feet with a wide-spreading summit. 




PLATE LXVIII. 
Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. A cone. Fig. 3. A seed. 



246 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

The leaves are fine, of a light green, six inches long, and united 
to the number of three and sometimes of four on young and 
vigorous stocks. The bloom takes place in the beginning of 
April ; the aments are nearly an inch long, and are bent and 
intermingled like those of the long-leaved pine. The cones are 
about four inches in length, and armed with strong spines ; while 
closed they have the form of an elongated pyramid, and when 
open of a rhombus more or less perfect : the seeds are cast the 
first year. 

The wood of this tree has a still greater proportion of sap 
than that of the pond and pitch pines : in trunks three feet in 
diameter, there are thirty inches of alburnum, and those of a foot 
in diameter and thirty or thirty-five feet in height, not more than 
an inch of heart. The concentric circles are widely distant, as 
might be supposed from the rapidity of its growth in the more 
Southern States j in Virginia, where it vegetates more slowly, its 
texture is closer and the proportion of sap less considerable. 
This wood is much used for building houses in Virginia. In the 
ports of the Southern States it is used, like the pitch pine in 
those of the north, for the pumps of ships ; at Charleston the 
wharves are built with logs of the loblolly pine, consolidated 
with earth ; it is much esteemed by bakers to heat their ovens. 
It afibrds turpentine in abundance, but in a less fluid state than 
that of the long-leaved pine ; as it contains more alburnum,, from 
which the turpentine distils, perhaps by making deeper incisions 
it would yield a greater product. 



PLANERA. 

Tetrandria Tetiagynia. Linn. Amentacese. Juss. Astringent, tonic, 

emollient. 

Planer Tree. Planera ulmifoUa. 

Kentucky, Tennessee, the banks of the Mississippi and the 
Southern States are the native places of this tree. It generally 
grows on the borders. of rivers or in swamps. 



DENDROLOGY. 



ui 



The planer tree is of the second order, and is rarely more 
than 35 or 40 feet high and 12 or 15 inches in diameter. The 
leaves are about an inch and a half long, oval-acuminate, 
denticulated, of a lively green color. Its bloom is early and not 
conspicuous. Its minute seeds are contained in small, oval, 
inflated, uneven capsules. 

The wood of this tree is hard, strong, and seemingly proper 
for various uses : but it is rare and the wood is neglected. 



PLATANUS. 



Monoscia Polyandria. Linn. Amentacese. Juss. Astringent jtonic, emollient. 



BuTTONwooD OR Sycamore. Platauus occidentalis. 

Among trees with decid- 
uous leaves, none in the 
temperate zones, either in 
the Old or New Continent, 
equal the dimensions of 
the planes. The species 
which we are about to des- 
cribe is not less remarkable 
for its amplitude, and for its 
magnificent appearance than 
the plane of Asia, whose 
majestic form and extraor- 
dinary size were so much 
celebrated by the ancients. 
In the Atlantic States this 
tree is commonly known by 
the name of Buttonwood, 
and sometimes in Virginia, by that of Water Beach. On the 
banks of the Ohio, and in the state of Kentucky and Tennessee, 
it is most frequently called Sycamore, and by some persons 
Plane Tree. The French of Canada and of Upper Louisiana 
give it the name of Cotton Tree. The first of these denomina- 




Fig. I. 



PLATE LXIX. 
A leaf. Fig. 2. The fruit. 



248 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

tions appear to be the most widely diffused, and not to be entirely 
unknown in those districts where the others are habitually 
employed ; for this reason we have adopted it, though a less 
appropriate appellation than that oi Plane Tree. The buttonwood 
does not grow towards the north-east, beyond Portland in the 
state of Maine ; but it is found farther west at the extremity of 
Lake Champlain and at Montreal. Proceeding from Boston 
and the shores of Lake Champlain towards the west and the 
south-west, this tree is continually met with over a vast tract, 
comprising the Atlantic and Western States, and extending 
beyond the Mississippi. The nature of the buttonwood confines 
it to moist and cool grounds, where the soil is loose, deep and 
fertile : the luxuriance of its vegetation depends upon the union 
of these circumstances. It is never found upon dry lands of an 
irregular surface among the white and red oaks and the walnuts : 
it is also more rare in all the mountainous tracts of the AUeghanies 
than in the flat country. In the swamps of Virginia its growth is 
stinted and in general it does not exceed eight or ten inches in 
diameter. Farther south, in the lower parts of the Carolinas 
and Georgia, it is not abundant even on the sides of the rivers, 
and is not seen in the branch swamps. The cause of its not 
being found in these small marshes is, perhaps, that the layer of 
vegetable mould, which is black and always miry, is not 
sufficiently thick and substantial to support its growth, and that 
the heat, in this part of the Southern States, is long continued 
and excessive. This tree in no part of the United States is 
more abundant and more vigorous than along the rivers of 
Pennsylvania and Virginia ; though in the more fertile valleys of 
the west, its vegetation is still more luxuriant, especially on the 
banks of the Ohio and of the rivers which flow into it. The bottoms 
which are watered by these rivers are covered with dark forests, 
composed of trees of an extraordinary size. The soil is very 
deep, loose, of a brown color and unctuous to the touch : it 
appears to have been formed by the slime deposited in the course 
of ages, at the annual overflowing of the rivers. 

On the margin of the great rivers of the west, the buttonwood 
is constantly found to be the loftiest and largest tree of the 



DENDROLOGY. 249 

United States. Often with a trunk of several feet in diameter, 
it begins to ramify at the height of GO or 70 feet, near the 
summit of other trees ; and often the base divides itself into 
several trunks equally vigorous and superior in diameter to any 
of the surrounding trees. On a little island in the Ohio, fifteen 
miles above the mouth of the Muskingum, M. Michaux mentions 
a buttonwood which, at five feet from the ground, was 40 feet 
and 4 inches in circumference, and consequently more than 13 
feet in diameter. He mentions another on the rieiht bank of the 

O 

Ohio, thirty-six miles above Marietta, whose base was swollen in 
an extraordinary manner ; at four feet from the ground it was 47 
feet in circumference. This tree, which still exhibited the 
appearance of vigorous vegetation, ramified at 20 feet from the 
ground. A buttonwood of equal size is mentioned as existing in 
Genessee. The astonishing dimensions of these trees recall the 
famous plane tree of Lycia spoken of by Pliny, whose trunk, 
hollowed by time, afforded a retreat for the night to the Roman 
Consul Licinius Mutianus, with eighteen persons of his retinue. 
The interior of this grotto was 75 feet in circumference, and the 
summit of the tree resembled a small forest. The most strikins: 
resemblance, in the majesty of their form and in the enormous 
size of their trunk, thus appears to exist between the only two 
species of plane that have hitherto been discovered. The 
American species is generally thought, in Europe, to possess a 
richer foliage, and to afford a deeper shade than the Asiatic 
plane : its leaves are of a beacitiful green, alternate, from five to 
fifteen inches broad, less deeply lobed, and formed with more 
open angles than those of the plane of the Eastern Continent. 
In the spring the lower surface of these leaves is covered with a 
thick down, which disappears towards summer. The sexes are 
separate, but the male and female flowers are attached. to the 
peduncle, instead of being placed on different branches. The 
flowers are in the form of small balls : the fertile ones grow to 
the diameter of an inch, and are supported by peduncles two or 
three inches long. These balls fall in the course of the autumn 
and winter, and, parting asunder, the seeds which compose them 
32 



250 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

are scattered in the wind, by means of the pUimy tuft by which 
they are surmounted. 

The trunk and branches of the buttonwood are covered with a 
smooth, pale green bark, of which the epidermis detaches itself 
every year in portions : a sufficiently obvious character is thus 
afforded, by which to distinguish the tree when deprived of its 
leaves. The roots, when taken from the earth, are of a beautiful 
red color ; but they loose this tint upon being split and exposed 
to the light in a dry place. The concentric layers, and the 
medullary rays are also observed to be much more distinct in 
the roots than in the body of the tree. This wood, in seasoning, 
becomes of a dull red : its grain is fine and close, and it is 
susceptible of a brighter polish than the wood of the beech, to 
which it bears some resemblance. Its concentric circles are 
divided into numerous sections, by fine, medullary rays extending 
from, the centre to the circumference. When a trunk is sawn in 
a direction parallel to these rays, they appear larger than when 
it is cut parallel to the concentric circles. It would seem then 
that the division should be made in the intermediate direction, so 
that the spots may be of a proper size and at equal distances, 
which gives an elegant surface to the wood. Cabinet makers 
rarely make use of this wood, on account of its liability to warp, 
except for bedsteads, which retain the color of the wood and are 
coated with varnish. This wood speedily decays when exposed 
to the atmosphere, hence it is only proper for work that is 
sheltered from the weather ; when' thoroughly seasoned, it may 
be usefully employed in the interior of houses for joists, and for 
sheathing the frame. It never is used in naval architecture. 



DENDROLOGY. 251 

POPULUS. 

Dioecia Octandria. Linn. Amentaceae. Juss. Astringent, tonic, emollient. 

Carolinian Poplar. Populus angulata. 

The lower part of Virginia is the most northern point at which 
this species of poplar is found, and here it is less common than 
in the Carolinas, in Georgia and in Lower Louisiana. It grows 
of preference on the marshy banks of the great rivers which 
traverse these states, and is peculiarly abundant on the Mississippi, 
from the ocean to the mouth of the Missouri, and along the 
Missouri for 100 miles from the junction of these streams, which, 
in following their windings, is a distance of- 1500 miles. 

Among the numerous species gf poplar of the United States, 

this is one of the most remarkable for its size, being sometimes 

60 ieet in height with a proportional diameter and an expansive 

summit garnished with beautiful foliage. The leaves, from the 

moment of their unfolding, are smooth and brilliant, but they 

differ widely in conformation, at different ages of the plant; on 

sprouts and young stocks they are seven or eight inches long 

and as much in breadth in the widest part, heart-shaped 

and rounded at the base, with the principal ribs of a reddish 

color ; on trees five or six inches in diameter, and thirty or forty 

feet in height, they arc only one-fourth as large, particularly on 

the higher branches, and their base is nearly straight, and at right 

angles with a petiole. These leaves are thin, smooth? of a fine 

green tint, marked with yellowish nerves and edged with obtuse 

teeth, which are fine towards the summit and coarser near the 

base. The long petiole compressed in the upper part renders 

them easy to be agitated by the wind. On sprouts and young 

stocks the annual shoots are very thick, distinctly striated and of 

a green complexion spotted with white ; on branches of the 

second, third and even to the eighth year, the traces of the 

furrows are still observable : they are indicated by prominent, 

red lines in the bark terminating at the insertion of young shoots, 

which ultimately disappear with the growth of thg branches 



252 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

This character also belongs to the cotton tree, but, besides the 
difference of their general appearance, the two species are 
distinguished by their buds ; those of the Carolinian poplar are 
short, of a deep green, and destitute of the resinous, aromatic 
substance, which covers those of the cotton wood, and of which 
the vestiges remain till late in the season. The Carolinian poplar 
blooms in March or April. 

The wood of this tree is white, soft and considered unfit for 
use either for fuel or in the arts. 



Cotton Tree. Popuhis argentea. 

This species is scattered over a great extent of country, 
comprising the Middle, Westerr* and Southern States. But it is 
so rare as to escape the notice of their inhabitants, and it has 
received a specific name only on the banks of the river Savannxih, 
in Georgia, where it is called Cotton Wood. The same 
denomination is applied also to the Carolinian poplar which grows 
in the same place. In New Jersey, not far from the city of New 
York may be considered the most northern point at which this 
tree grows. It. is also found in Virginia, but less commonly than 
on the banks of some of the rivers which traverse the maritime^ 
parts of the more Southern States. It is still more abundant in 
the Western Countr}^ Near the junction of the Ohio with the 
Mississippi, M. Michaux mentions a swamp six miles in diameter, 
which is entirely covered with these trees. 

The cotton tree is sometimes 70 or 80 feet in height and 2 or 
3 feet in diameter. On trunks of these dimensions the bark is 
very thick and deeply furrowed. The young branches and 
annual shoots are round, instead of being angular like those of 
the Carolinian poplar and of the cotton wood. The leaves while 
very young, are covered with a thick, white down, which gradually 
disappears, leaving them perfectly smooth above and slightly 
downy beneath. They are borne by long petioles, are often six 
inches in length and as much in breadth, of a thick texture, 
denticulateci and heart-shaped, with the lobes of the base lapped 



DENDROLOGY. 



253 



SO as to conceal the junction of the petiole. The aments are 
drooping and about three inches long as those of the Carolinian 
poplar. They put forth in the month of April. 

The wood of the cotton tree is soft, light, unfit for use, and 
inferior to that of the white, the Virginian and the Lombardy 
poplars. The heart is yellowish, inclining to red, and the young 
branches are filled with a pith of the same color. It is 
appropriated to no particular use in the arts or for fuel. 

Cotton Wood. Populus canadensis. 



This species, like the 
Virginian poplar, has long 
been known in Europe. It 
was probably introduced into 
France from Canada; such 
at least is its origin indicated 
by the name of Canadian 
Poplar. This tree grows 
in the upper part of the state 
of New York on the banks 
of the river Genessee which 
empties into Lake Ontario, 
in some parts of ""'Virginia 
and on several islands of the 
Ohio. It is generally found 
on the margin of rivers in a 
fat, unctuous soil, exposed 
to inundation at their overflowing in the spring. 

On the banks of the Genessee, where the winter is rigorous, 
the cotton wood is 70 or 80 feet in height and three or four feet 
in diameter. The leaves are deltoid, or trowel-shaped, ap- 
proaching to cordiform, always longer than they are broad, 
glabrous and equally toothed : the petioles are compressed and 
of a yellowish green, with two glands of the same color at the 
base : the branches are angular, and the angles form whitish 
lines, which persist even the adult age of the tree. The female 




PLATE LXX. 
Figure 1. A leaf. 



254 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



aments are six or eight inches long, flexible and pendulous. 
The seeds are surrounded with a beautiful plume which has the 
whiteness of cotton, and the young buds are coated with a resinous, 
aromatic substance of an agreeable odor. 

The cotton wood is a more picturesque tree than the Virginian 
poplar, particularly when growing on the sides of rivers. Its 
trunk is very plainly sulcated even in its old age. It is less so 
than the Carolinian poplar, but far more so than the Virginian 
poplar, whose trunk is rounder and its summit more spherical. 
Hence the two species are easily distinguished. The cotton 
wood, also, acquires a larger bulk. This wood is assigned to no 
particular use in the arts or for fuel. 



Heart-Leaved Balsam Poplar. Populus cancUcans. 

In the state of Rhode 
Island, Massachusetts and 
New Hampshire, this tree, 
which is a genuine Balsam 
Poplar, is commonly seen 
growing before the houses, 
less as an ornament than as 
a shelter from the sun. It 
is not found in the forests of 
these states. 

This tree attains the height 
of 40 or 50 feet, with a 
diameter of 18 or 20 inches. 
The trunk is clad in a 
smooth, greenish bark. The 
PLATE Lxxf. foliage is tufted and of a 

Figure 1. A leaf. , , ^' ^ i ^ ^i 

dark green tint, but tlie 
irregular disposition of the branches gives an elegant appearance 
to the tree. The buds, like those of the balsam poplar, are 
covered, in the spring, with a resinous, balsamic substance of an 
agreeable odor. 

The wood of this tree is soft, light and is appropriated to no 
use in the arts and is Httle esteemed for fuel. 




DENDROLOGY. 255 



American Large Aspen. Populus grandidentata. 

The American Large Aspen belongs rather to the Northern 
and Middle, than to the Southern States, in the upper parts 
only of which it is found. North of the United States, this 
poplar, though not one of the most rare, is not one of the most 
common trees, and it is so thinly scattered over the face of the 
country, that sometimes not a single stock is met with by the 
traveller for several days. For this reason, probably it has been 
confounded by the inhabitants with the American aspen, which 
is more multiplied : as it surpasses the aspen in height, we have 
given it the name of Large Aspen. It grows as favorably on 
uplands as on the borders of swamps. 

This tree attains the height of about 40 feet with a diameter 
of 10 or 12 inches. The trunk is straight and covered with a 
smooth, greenish bark which is rarely cracked. Its branches 
are few and scattered ; they ramify and become charged with 
leaves only at their extremity, so that the interior of the summit 
is void and of an ungrateful appearance. At their unfolding in 
the spring the leaves are covered with a thick, white down, which 
disappears with their growth, so that at the beginning of summer 
they are perfectly smooth. The full-formed leaf is nearly round, 
two or three inches in width, smooth on both sides, and bordered 
with large teeth, from which is derived the latin specific name 
of grandidentata. The flowers, which put forth in April, compose 
aments about two inches long that appear in the infancy of the 
leaves, and that, at this period, are thickly coated with down. 

The wood is light, soft, and unequal to that of the Virginian 
and Lombardy poplars, and of litde use. 



American Black Poplar. Populus hudsonica. 

This poplar is found principally on the banks of the river 
Hudson, above Albany and in the Canadas, and is a stranger to 
the other parts of the United States. 



25G SYLVA AMERICANA. 

This tree seldom surpasses the height of 30 or 40 feet and a 
diameter of 12 or 15 inches. The bark of the young branches 
is of a grayish white, and the buds, which spring from the bosom 
of the leaves, are of a dark brown. One of the distinctive 
characters of this species is the hairiness of the young shoots and 
of the petioles in the spring, which is perceptible, also, on the 
back of the young leaves. The leaves are smooth, of a beautiful 
green color, denticulated, rounded in the middle, and acutely 
tapering towards the summit. When fully developed they are a 
little more than three inches long, about two inches broad, and, 
unlike the leaves of trees in general, they exhibit nearly the same 
shape from the moment of their unfolding. The aments are four 
or five inches long and destitute of the hairs which surround 
those of several other species. 

The wood of the American black poplar is inferior to that of 
the Virginian and Lombardy poplars and consequently of little use. 



Virginian Poplar. Populus monilifera. 

This poplar is indigenous to North America, though very rare, 
and is called Vh-ginian Poplar and Sioiss Poplar ; the last of 
which denominations is owing only to its being abundantly 
multiplied in Switzerland. 

This tree is 60 or 70 feet high with a proportional diameter. 
Its trunk is cylindrical, and not sulcated like that of the Lombardy 
poplar, and the bark upon old stocks is blackish. The leaves 
are nearly as long as they are broad, slightly heart-shaped, 
compressed towards the summit, obtusely denticulated and borne 
by long petioles. On large trees their mean length is from two 
and a half to three inches, but they vary in size, being twice as 
large on the lower limbs, and on young stocks growing in moist 
places. On trees equally vigorous and nourished by the same 
soil, the leaves of this species are observed to be only half as 
large as those of the cotton wood and Carolinian poplar. This 
tree has been and is still confounded with the cotton wood ; but 
the principal difference between them is that the leaves of the 



DENDROLOGY. 257 

Virginian poplar are much smaller and less distinctly heart-shaped ; 
the young shoots are smaller and less angular, and on high grounds 
those of the third year are even cylindrical ; the limbs also 
diverge less widely from the trunk. 

The wood of this tree is softer than that of the cotton wood, 
but its growth is more rapid and it prospers in a less humid soil. 
It is appropriated to no particular use in the arts. 



American Aspen. Pojpulus tremuloides. 

This species of Poplar is common in the Northern and Middle 
sections of the United States, and is profusely multiplied in 
Lower Canada : in the vicinity of New York and Philadelphia, it 
prefers open lands of a middling quality. 

The American aspen is ordinarily about 30 feet in height and 
five or six inches in diameter. The bark of the trunk is greenish 
and smooth, except on the base of the oldest trees, where it 
becomes furrowed. The leaves are about two inches broad, 
narrowed at the summit, and supported by long petioles ; they 
are of a dark green color, and in the spring, their nerves are 
reddish : on stocks seven or eight feet in height, they are nearly 
round, and are bordered with obtuse, irregular teeth ; on young 
shoots, they are of twice this size, heart-shaped, and acuminate 
at the summit. Of all the American poplars, this species has 
the most tremulous leaves, the gentlest air suffices to throw them 
into agitation. This tree blooms about the middle of April, 
about a fortnight before the birth of the leaves. The aments, 
which spring from the extremity of the branches, are composed 
of silky plumes, and are of an oval form and about two inches 
in length. 

The wood of this tree is light, soft, destitute of strength and 
utility for timber or fuel. The wood is sometimes divided into 
Icmince for the fabrication of hats, which are much worn in the 
summer season. 

33 



258 



SVLVA AMERICANA. 



QUERCUS. 

Monoscia Polyanch-ia. Lin v. Amentacese. Juss. Jlstringcnt,toivr, emollient. 

White Oak. Qiicrcus alba. 

Throughout the United 
States and Canada this tree 
is known by the name of 
White Oak. The environs 
of a small town of Trois 
Rivieres in Canada, lati- 
tude 46° 20', and the 
lower part of the river 
Kemiebeck in the state of 
Maine are the most northern 
points at which this tree 
grows. Thence we trace it 
along the sea shore to a 
distance beyond Cape Can- 
naveral, latitude 28 degrees, 
and westward from the ocean 
to Illinois, an extent of more 
than 1,200 miles from north-east to south-west. It is, however, by 
no means equally diffused over this vast tract ; in the state of 
Maine, Vermont and Lower Canda, it is little muhiplied, and its 
vegetation is repressed by the severity of the winter. In the 
lower part of the Southern States, in the Floridas and Lower 
Louisiana, it is found only on the borders of the swamps with a 
few other trees which likewise shun a dry and barren soil. The 
white oak is observed also to be uncommon on lands of extraor- 
dinary fertility, like those of Kentucky and Tennessee, and of all 
the spacious valleys watered by the western rivers. It abounds 
chiefly in the Middle States, particularly in that part of Pennsylva- 
nia and Virginia which lie between the Alleghanies and the Ohio, a 
distance of about 150 miles, where nine-tenths of the forests are 




PLATE LXXr 
Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. 



The fruit. 



DENDROLOGY. 259 

frequently composed of these trees, whose heathful appearance 
evinces the favorable nature of the soil. East of the mountains 
this tree is found in every exposure, and in every soil which is 
not extremely dry or subject to long inundations j but the largest 
stocks grow in humid places. In the western districts, where it 
composes entire forests, the face of the country is undulated, and 
the yellow soil, consisting partly of clay with calcareous stones, 
yields abundant crops of wheat. 

The white oak attains the elevation of 70 or 80 feet with a 
diameter of 6 or 7 feet ; but its proportions vary with the soil 
and climate. The leaves are regularly and obliquely divided 
into oblong, rounded lobes, destitute of points : the sections are 
deepest in the most humid soils. Soon after their unfolding 
they are reddish above and white and downy beneath ; when 
fully grown they are smooth and of a light green on the upper 
surface and glaucous beneath. In autumn they change to a 
bright violet color, and form an agreeable contrast with the 
surrounding foliage which has not yet suffered by the frost. 
This is the only oak on which a few of the dried leaves persist 
till the circulation is renewed in the spring. By this peculiarity 
and by the whiteness of the bark, from which it derives its name, 
it is easily distinguishable in the winter. This tree puts forth 
flowers in May which are succeeded by acorns of an oval form, 
large, very sweet, contained in rough, shallow, grayish cups, and 
borne singly or in pairs, by peduncles eight or ten lines in length, 
attached as in all species of annual fructification, to the shoots 
of the season. The fruit of the white oak is rarely abundant 
and frequently for several years in succession a few handfuls of 
acorns could hardly be collected in a large forest where the 
tree is multiplied. Some stocks produce acorns of a deep 
blue color. 

The bark of the trunk of the white oak is often variegated 
with large, black spots. On stocks of less than sixteen inches in 
diameter the epidermis is divided into squares ; on old trees, 
growing in moist grounds, it is in the form of plates laterally 
attached. The wood is reddish, and very similar to that of the 
European oak, though lighter and less compact : in the American 



260 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

species the vessels which occupy the intervals of the concentric 
circles are visibly less replete. But of all the American oaks, 
this is the best and the most generally used, being strong, durable, 
and of large dimensions. It is less employed than formerly in 
building, only because it is scarcer and more costly. The 
excellent properties of this wood cause it to be preferred for a 
great variety of uses, among which are many articles manufactured 
by the wheelwrights. White oak perfectly seasoned is employed 
for the frames of coaches, waggons and sledges, for the mould 
boards of ploughs, the felloes, spokes and naves of wheels. 
The wood of the young stocks is very elastic and is susceptible 
of minute division, hence it is preferred for large baskets used in 
harvesting, for the hoops of selves, the bottoms of riddles and 
the handles of coach whips ; for pail handles and axe helves. 
In many parts of the Middle States, the white oak is selected for 
the posts of rural fence. The bark is considered by many 
tanners as the best for preparing leather for saddles and other 
similar objects ; it is little employed however, because the bark 
of the trunk and large limbs only is employed, and on these the 
cellular integument is much thinner in the white, than in the red 
and black oaks. The white oak furnishes staves of the best 
quality, of which are made casks for wine and spirituous liquors. 
The domestic consumption for this purpose is immense, and vast 
quantities are exported to the West Indies, Great Britain, and 
the islands of Madeira and TenerifFe. The young stocks are 
very elastic and are used for hoops. Among the uses of this 
wood, the most important is in ship building. In all the dock 
yards of the Northern and Middle States, except Maine, it is 
almost exclusively employed for the keel and always for the 
lower part of the frame and the sides : it is preferred for the 
knees when sticks of a proper form can be found. In the 
smaller ports south of New York, the upper part of the frame is 
also made of white oak ; but such vessels are less esteemed than 
those constructed of more durable wood. The medicinal proper- 
tie* of oak bark depend on its astringency, and that again on its 
tannin. The inner bark of the small branches is the strongest, 
the middle bark next, and the outer bark is almost useless. 



DENDROLOGY. 



261 



Internally it may be given in form of decoction, of infusion, or 
powder, as a tonic and astringent in leucorrhoea, menorrhagia, 
etc., and also in intermittents. Externally, as a styptic, astringent, 
and antiseptic, when sprinkled in form of a powder over gangrenous 
and ichorous ulcers. Inhaled in the form of impalpable powder 
it has been known to cure phthisic, even in its advanced stages- 



Gray Oak. Qiiercus amhigua. 

The Gray Oak is found 
farther north than any other 
species in America ; on the 
river St. Lawrence, between 
Quebec and Malabaie, in 
latitude 47° 50' may be 
considered as its northern 
limit. Three degrees far- 
ther south in Maine and 
New Hampshire, and on the 
shores of Lake Champlain 
in Vermont, it is more mul- 
tiplied. It is called by the 
inhabitants Gray Oak, but 
it has been confounded by 
botanists with the red oak, 
to which it bears a close 
analogy in its foliage as it does to the scarlet oak in its fruit. On 
these resemblances is founded the latin specific name of amhigua. 
In favorable situations it attains the height of 50 or 60 feet 
with a diameter of 15 or 18 inches. The leaves are large, 
smooth, and deeply sinuated at right angles to the main rib. 
The flowers put forth in the month of May, which are succeeded 
by acorns of a middling size, rounded at the end, and contained 
in scaly cups. 

The wood of the gray oak is similar to that of the other species 
included under the common name of Red Oak. Its coarse and 




PLATE LXXIII. 
Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. Tlie fruit. 



262 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



open texture renders it unfit for any use except to contain dry 
wares ; but in districts where oak wood is rare, recourse is had 
for other purposes, to several species of inferior quality, which 
are still preferred to the birch, the beech and the pine. Thus 
the gray oak is employed for the knees of vessels and for 
cartwrights' work ; it is even preferred to that of the red oak, as 
being stronger and more durable. 



Water Oak. Quercus aquatica. 

The Water Oak abounds 
in Virginia, the lower part 
of the Carolinas and Georgia 
and in East Florida. Under 
the name of Water Oak it 
is sometimes confounded 
with JVilhw Oak, by which 
it is always accompanied in 
the ponds andnarrow swamps 
inclosed in the pine-barrens. 
This tree is inferior in 
size to the willow oak, and 
rarely exceeds 40 or 45 feet 
in height, and 12 or 18 inches 
in diameter. On full-grown 
trees the leaves are smooth, 
shining, and heart-shaped or 
broad and rounded at the summit and terminated in an acute 
angle at the base. In the severe climate of Virginia they fall 
with the first frost, but on the sea-shore of the Carolinas, Georgia, 
and Florida, they persist during two or three years. There is 
no oak in the United States of which the fohage is so variable 
and so different from that of the tree, on the young stocks and 
on the sprouts from an old trunk or from the base of a limb that 
has been lopped : the leaves are commonly oval and deeply and 
irregularly toothed. The flowers appear in the month of May, 




PLATE LXXIV. 

Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. The fruit. 



DENDROLOGY. 2G3 

and are followed by acorns, which are contained in shallow, 
slightly scaly cups ; they are brown, small and extremely bitter. 
This tree fructifies once in two years. 

The bark upon the oldest trunks of the water oak is smooth 
and very slightly furrowed ; it is little used in tanning, either 
because it is inferior to that of the Spanish oak, or because the 
tree is less abundant. The wood is very tough, but less durable 
and less esteemed by carpenters and wheelwrights than that of 
the white oak and chesnut white oak. 



Bear Oak. Qiiercus banisteri. 

This diminutive species is known in the Northern and Middle 
States by the name of Bear Oak, Black Sc7'ub Oak and Dwarf 
Oak, of which the first is most common in New Jersey, where 
it is abundant. This shrub is common in New York, New 
Jersey, Pennsylvania, particularly on that part of the Alleghanies 
which is crossed by the road to Pittsburgh. It is seldom found 
insulated or mingled with other trees in the forests, but always 
in tracts of many acres, which it covers almost exclusively. 

The ordinary height of the bear oak is 3 or 4 feet ; but when 
accidentally insulated and nourished by a vein of more fertile 
soil, it sometimes equals eight or ten feet. It usually grows in 
compact masses, which are traversed with difficulty, though no 
higher than the waist. As the individuals which compose them 
are of an uniform height, they form so even a surface that at a 
distance the ground appears to be covered with grass instead of 
shrubs. The stem, which is numerously ramified, is covered, 
like the branches, with a polished bark. It has more strength 
than would be supposed from its size, which is rarely more than 
an inch in diameter. The leaves are of a dark green color on 
the upper surface, whitish beneath, and regularly divided into 
three or five lobes. The flowers appear in May, and it fructifies 
once in two years. The acorns are small, blackish, and longi- 
tudinally marked with a few reddish lines : they are so abundant 
as sometimes to cover the branches ; the lowly stature of the 



264 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

shrub renders it easy for bears, deer and swine to reach them by 
lifting their heads or rising on their hinder feet. 

The presence of this oak is considered as an infalHble index 
of a barren soil, and it is usually found on dry, sandy land 
mingled with gravel. It is too small to be adapted to any use in 
the arts or for fuel. It might probably be usefully adopted in 
the Northern States for hedges, which might be formed by 
sowing the acorns in furrows from twenty to twenty-four inches 
thick, which in a few years would be sufficient to prevent the 
passage of horses and cattle. 



Upland Willow Oak. Quercus cinera. 

The Upland Willow Oak is confined to the maritime parts of 
the Southern States. It is little multiplied in comparison with 
many other species, and is dispersed in small groups in the forests 
of white pine. It is found also upon the sea shore, and upon the 
islands where it covers tracts of several acres still more barren 
than the main. But the stocks which grow in these different 
situations are so different in appearance that they might easily 
be mistaken for distinct species. 

In the pine-barrens this tree is 18 or 20 feet high, and 4 or 5 
inches in diameter. The leaves are two inches and a half long, 
entire and whitish beneath ; on the islands and on the shore 
of the continent, where the soil is extremely dry, they are only 
three or four feet in height, and the leaves are denticulated, are 
an inch in length, and persist for two years. Its fructification is 
biennial and it flowers in the month of May. The acorns, which 
are contained in shallow cups, are round and blackish with the 
base of a bright rose color when freshly exposed. 

The upland willow oak is one of those abject trees that succeed 
the pines on lands which have been cleared for cultivation and 
abandoned on account of their sterility. In these places as in the 
pine-barrens, it is 20 feet in stature, and its trunk, which is 
covered with a thick bark, begins at a third of this height to 
divide itself by numerous ramifications. In the spring it is 



DENDROLOGY. 265 

distinguished at a distance by the reddish color of its leaves 
and male aments. 

The bark of this species, like that of the black oak, affords a 
beautiful yellow dye; but the tree is so small and so little 
multiplied that it is of no utility in this respect, not even for fuel. 



Barens Scrub Oak. (^uercus cateshcei. 

This species is principally confined to the lower part of the 
Carolinas and Georgia. It grows in soils too meagre to sustain 
any other vegetation, such as the vicinity of Wilmington in North 
Carolina, where the light, moveable sand is wholly destitute of 
vegetable mould. It is the only species multiplied in the pine- 
barrens, and from this circumstance it seems to have derived its 
name. 

The ordinary height of this tree is 20 or 25 feet with a 
diameter of six or eight inches. Its foliage is open, and its leaves 
are large, smooth, thick and coriaceous towards the close of 
summer, deeply and irregularly laciniated, and supported by 
short petioles. With the first frost they change to a dull red, 
and fall the ensuing month. It blooms in May and fructifies 
once in two years. The acorns are pretty large, of a blackish 
color, and partly covered with a fine, gray dust, which is easily 
rubbed off between the fingers : they are contained in thick cups, 
swollen towards the edge, with the upper scales bent inwards. 

In the winter it is difficult to distinguish the scrub oak from 
the black jack oak, which it nearly resembles. Like that, it is 
crooked, ramified at the height of two or three feet, and covered 
with a thick, blackish, deeply-furrowed bark : it is, besides, 
perfectly similar in the color, texture and weight of the wood. 
This tree is considered as the best of fuel, and its size alone 
would exclude it from use in the arts. 



34 



2166 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



Scarlet Oak. Querctis coccinea. 




PLATE LXXV. 

Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. The fruit. 



The Scarlet Oak is first 
seen in the vicinity of Boston, 
but it is less multiplied than 
in New Jersey,Pennsylvania, 
Virginia, and the upper part 
of the Carolinas and Georgia, 
where it forms a part of the 
forests that are still standing. 
It is a stranger to Maine, 
New Hampshire and Ver- 
mont. In the Northern 
States it is confounded with 
the red oak, and in those of 
the south, with the Spanish 
oak. 

This is a vegetable of 
more than 80 feet in height 
and of three or four feet in diameter. The leaves, which are 
supported by long petioles, are of a beautiful green, shining on 
both sides, and laciniated in a remarkable manner, having usually 
four deep sinuses very broad at the bottom. They begin to 
change with the first cold, and, after several successive frosts, 
turn to a bright scarlet color, instead of a dull hue like those of 
the red oak. At this season the singular color of the foliage 
forms a striking contrast with that of the surrounding trees, and 
is itself a sufficient inducement to cultivate the tree for ornament. 
It flowers in May, and fructifies once in two years. The acorns 
are large, somewhat enongated, similarly rounded at both ends, 
and half covered with scaly cups. As this fruit varies in size 
with the quality of the soil, it is difficult to distinguish it from the 
black oak ; the only constant difference is in the kernel, which is 
yellowish in the black oak and white in the species which we are 
considering. 

The bark of the scarlet oak is very thick and generally 



DENDROLOGY. 



267 



employed in tanning, though it is in no respect preferable to that 
of the gray and red oaks. The wood of this tree is reddish and 
coarse-grained, with open pores. As it decays much more 
rapidly than the white oak, it is employed by the builder and 
wheelwright only for necessity or economy. It is poor fuel, and 
is used principally for staves. In the Middle States, a large part 
of the red oak staves are furnished by this species. From this 
tree is obtained those excrescences which afford the galls of 



commerce. 



Spanish Oak. Quercus falcata. 

This species first makes 
its appearance in New Jersey 
near AUentown, about sixty 
miles from Philadelphia. 
Farther south it is constantly 
found among the most com- 
mon trees in the forests. It 
is less multiplied near the 
mountains, and in the country 
beyond them. In Delaware, 
Maryland and Virginia, it is 
known only by the name of 
Spanish Oak, and in the 
Carolinas and Georgia by 
that of Red Oak. It is said 
to have been called Spanish 
Oak by the first settlers, 
from the resemblance of its leaves to those of the Qtiercus 
velani which grows in Spain. The denomination of JRed Oak 
which is used only in the more Southern States, was probably 
given on account of the great analogy between its wood and that 
of the species thus called in the Northern and Middle States, 
where the Spanish oak is much less common than in the south. 
This tree is more than 80 feet in height, and 4 or 5 feet in 
diameter. Its leaves are very different on different individuals j 




PLATE LXXVr.- 
Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. The fruit. 



268 SYLVA AMEKICANA. 

thus in New Jersey, where the tree is only thirty feet high and 
four or five inches thick, they are three lobed, except a few on 
the summit, and not falcated as on the large stocks in the Southern 
States. On young plants, and on the lower branches of the most 
vigorous stocks growing in moist and shaded situations, they are 
also trilobed j and on the upper limbs they are more acutely 
laciniated, with the sections more archi-iig llian those represented 
in the figure. One of their constant characters is a thick down 
upon the lower side of the leaves and upon the young shoots to 
which they are attached. This tree fructifies once in two years. 
Its flowers put forth in May and are succeeded by small, round 
acorns, of a brown color, and contained in slightly scaly, shallow 
cups supported by peduncles one or two lines in length. They 
resemble those of the bear oak, and, like them, preserve for a 
long time the capability of germination. 

The bark upon the trunk of the Spanish oak is blackish and 
deeply furrowed, with a cellular integument of middling thickness. 
The wood is reddish and coarse-grained, with empty pores, and 
all the characteristic properties of the species known in commerce 
by the general name of Red Oak : hence its staves are fit only 
to contain molasses, salted provisions and dry goods. From its 
want of durability, this oak is less esteemed than the white oak, 
the post oak and other species of annual fructification. It is 
rarely employed in building, and is used by cartwrights in 
preference to white oak for the felloes of large wheels. Its bark 
is preferred to that of most other species of oak for tanning coarse 
leather, which it renders whiter and more supple ; the leather is 
said to be improved by the addition of a small quantity of the 
bark of the hemlock spruce. 



DENDROLOGY. 



269 




PLATE LXXVn. 

Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. The fiuit. 



Black Jack Oak. Quercus ferruginea. 

The Black Jack Oak is 
first seen near Allentown in 
New Jersey ; but it is 
smaller and less multiplied 
in this place than farther 
south. In New Jersey and 
Pennsylvania it is called 
Barrens Oak, and Black 
Jack Oak in Maryland and 
the more Southern States. 
This species is commonly 
found upon soils composed 
of red, argillaceous sand 
mingled with gravel, and so 
meagre as to be totally 
exhausted by five or six 
crops, when they are thought 
worthy of cultivation. 
The black jack oak is sometimes 30 feet high and 8 or 10 
inches in diameter, but commonly does not exceed half these 
dimensions. Its trunk is generally crooked, and is covered with 
a very hard, thick and deeply-furrowed bark, of which the 
epidermis is nearly black, and the cellular integument of a dull 
red. The summit is spacious even in the midst of the woods. 
The leaves are yellowish, and somewhat downy at their unfolding 
in the spring ; when fully expanded, they are of a dark green 
above, rusty beneath, thick, coriaceous, and dilated towards the 
summit like a pear. In autumn they turn reddish, and fall with 
the earliest frost. This tree fructifies once in two years. The 
flowers are put forth in the month of May and are succeeded by 
large acorns, half covered with scaly cups. 

When the stock of this tree is more than eight inches in 
diameter, the wood is heavy and compact ; but coarse-grained 
and porous before it has reached this size. As it speedily decays 
when exposed to the weather, it is not used in the arts, but it 
forms excellent fuel. 



270 SYLVA AMERICANA. 



Bartram Oak. Qvercus heterophylla. 

Every botanist who has visited the different regions of the 
globe must have remarked certain species of vegetables which 
are so little multiplied that they seem likely at no distant period 
to disappear from the earth. To this class belongs the Bartram 
oak. Several foreign and American naturalists have spent years 
in exploring the United States, and have found no traces of this 
species except a single stock in a field belonging to M. 
Bartram, on the banks of the Schuylkill, four miles from 
Philadelphia. This is a flourishing tree upwards of 30 feet in 
height and a foot in diameter, and seems formed to attain a 
much greater developement. Its leaves are of an elongated, 
oval form, coarsely and irregularly toothed, smooth above, and 
of a dark green beneath. The acorns are round, of a middling 
size, and contained in shallow cups slightly covered with scales. 
This tree bears a great affinity to the laurel oak ; but the leaves 
of that species are never indented, like those of the Bartram oak. 
Several young plants have been generated from the original stock 
which are now growing in the gardens of Europe and this 
country which will insure the preservation of the species. 



DENDROLOGY 



271 



Laurel Oak. Quercus imhricaria. 




PLATE Lxxvin. 

Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. The fruit. 



East of the Alleghanies 
this species is rare, and has 
received no specific name ; 
west of the mountains, where 
it is more multiplied and has 
attracted more attention, it 
is called Jack Oak, Black 
Jack Oak, and sometimes 
from the form of the leaves, 
Laurel Oak. The last de- 
nomination we have preserv- 
ed as the most appropriate, 
though perhaps it is less 
common than the first. This 
tree is a stranger north of 
Pennsylvania and is rare in 
the more Southern States. 
It is found abundantly only beyond the mountains in some parts 
of Kentucky and Tennessee and in the country of Illinois where 
it is profusely multiplied, and it is called by the French of that 
country Chene a lattes, lath oak. In the western parts of 
Pennsylvania and Virginia, small lawns, covered only with tall 
grass, are frequently seen in the forests, around which the laurel 
oak forms entire groves : insulated stocks are also found in cool, 
humid situations. It is probably from its flourishing in open 
exposures that it is most abundant in the country of the Illinois, 
which consists of immeasurable savannas stretching in every 
direction, to which the forests bear no sensible proportion. 

The laurel oak is 40 or 50 feet high, and 12 or 15 inches in 
diameter. Its trunk even when old, is clad in a smooth bark, 
and, for three-fourths of its height, is laden with branches. It 
has an uncouth form when bared in the winter, but is beautiful 
in the summer when clad with its thick, tufted foliage. The 
leaves are long, lanceolate, entire, of a light, shining green and 



272 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



pubescent beneath. It flowers in the month of May, and is 
succeeded by acorns of a sub-globose form. It fructifies once 
in two years. 

The wood is hard and heavy, though its pores are open. As 
the trunk is branchy and often crooked, it is considered as fit 
only for fuel on the eastern side of the mountains. In the 
country of Illinois where it attains much greater dimensions, it is 
employed for shingles, probably for the want of a better species, 
for the wood is inferior to that of the willow oak, which it nearly 
resembles. 



Over-Cup Oak. (^mrcv^,s lyrata. 



This interesting species 
exists in the lower part of 
the Carolinas and Georgia, 
on the banks of the Missis- 
sippi in LovVer Louisiana 
and in East Florida. In 
Georgia and the Carolinas it 
is not extensively multiplied, 
and has been distiguished 
only by the inhabitants of 
the places where it grows. 
It is called Swamp Post Oak, 
Over-Cuj) Oak and Water 
White Oak. The name of 
Over-Cup Oak is the most 
common in South Carolina, 
and that of Swamp Post Oak 
on the Savannah in Georgia. This tree grows in more humid 
situations than any other species of this genus in the United States. 
It is never seen in the long, narrow marshes which intersect the 
pine-barrens, but is found exclusively in the great swamps on the 
borders of the rivers, which are often overflowed at the rising of 
the waters, and are inaccessible during three-fourths of the year. 




PLATE LXXIX. 

A leaf. Fig 2. The fruit. 



DENDROLOGY. 273 

This oak expands to a majestic size, and the influence of a 
deep and constantly humid soil is shown in the luxuriancy of its 
vegetation. On the banks of the Savannah it attains the 
elevation of 80 feet with a circumference of 8 to 12 feet. The 
leaves are six or eight inches long, smooth, narrow, lyre-shaped, 
deeply sinuated, and borne by short petioles. The lobes, 
particularly the two upper ones, are truncated, and from their 
resemblance in this respect to those of the post oak, is derived 
the name of Swamp Post Oak. The foliage is thick and of a 
light, agreeable tint. It fructifies annually and flowers in the 
month of May. The acorns, unlike those of the oaks in 
general which are of an elongated, oval shape, are broad, round 
and depressed at the summit : they are sometimes from 12 to 18 
lines from the base to the summit. The cup, which is nearly 
closed, is thin, and its scales are terminated by short, firm 
points. 

The bark upon the trunk is white, and the wood, though 
inferior to that of the white oak and the post oak, is more 
compact than would be supposed from the soil in which it grows ; 
the pores are observable only between the concentric circles, 
and are more regularly disposed than in other trees. 



35 



274 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



Over-Cup White Oak. Quercus macrocarpa. 

This interesting species is 
most multiplied beyond the 
Alleghanies, in the fertile 
districts of Kentucky and 
West Tennessee, and in 
Upper Louisiana near the 
Missouri. It is called by 
the Americans Bar Oak 
and Over- Cup White Oak, 
and by the French of Illinois, 
Chene a gros gland. 

This is a beautiful tree, 
more than 60 feet in height, 
laden with a dark, tufted 
foliage. The leaves are 
larger than those of any 
other oak in the United 
Slates, being frequently fifteen inches long and eight broad ; they 
are notched near the summit, and deeply laciniated below. It 
fructifies annually and flowers in May. The acorns, which are 
also larger than those of any other American species, are oval and 
Inclosed for two-thirds of their length in a thick, rugged cup, 
bordered with fine, flexible filaments. Sometimes, however, in 
compact forests, or in very temperate seasons, the filaments do not 
appear, and the edge of the cup is smooth and bent inwards. 

The fructification of this tree is not abundant, and as its wood 
is inferior to that of the white oak, it is little esteemed in the 
United Sttates. 




PLATE LXXX. 
Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. The fruit. 



DENDROLOGY. 



27& 




Post Oak. (^uetxus ohtusiloha^ 

In New Jersey near the 
sea, and in the vicinity of 
Philadelphia, this species is 
thinly disseminated in the 
forests, and was formerly 
considered as a variety of 
the white oak. In Maryland 
and a great part of Virginia, 
where it abounds, and where 
its properties are better 
understood, it is called Box 
M^ite Oak^ and sometimes 
Iron Oak and Post OaJc. 
The last denomination only 
is used in the Carolinas, 
Georgia and East Tennessee. 
The steep banks of the 
Hudson in the vicinity of New York are the most northern points 
where it grows. Even here its existence seems to be secured 
only by the influence of the sea air, which tempers to a certain 
degree the severity of the winter. A little farther inward it is 
not found in the forests. In the vicinity of South Amboy, thirty 
miles nearer the sea, where the soil is dry and sandy, it is more 
multiplied, and it still becomes more vigorous and more common 
in advancing towards the south. Near Baltimore, it abounds in 
the woods and attains its utmost expansion. In Kentucky and 
Tennessee it is rare, except on the edges of the swamps inclosed 
in the forests, about which it is multiplied though not fully 
developed. It is likewise found in Lower Louisiana and East 
Florida. But it is nowhere more abundant than in Maryland 
and in Virginia, between the Alleghanies and the sea. Wherever 
the soil is dry, gravelly and unsubstantial, it forms a considerable 
portion of the forests. The upper part of the Carolinas and 
Georgia, particularly where the pine and oak forests unite, is 



PLATE LXXXr. 

Tis. 1. Aleaf. Fig. 2 The fiait. 



276 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

analogous in soil, and abounds in the post oak ; but nearer the 
sea the oak becomes rare and is only seen in the lowest parts of 
the swamps, about the plantations, and on tracts that have been 
exhausted by cultivation and abandoned. 

The height of the post oak rarely exceeds 40 or 50 feet, with 
a diameter of 15 inches. Its summit, even when compressed 
in the forests, is disproportionably large, owing probably to an 
early division of the trunk into several limbs, with which the 
secondary branches form more open angles than is common on 
other trees. The branches are also bent into elbows at certain 
distances, which give so peculiar an appearance to the tree that 
it is easily distinguished when the leaves are fallen. The bark 
upon the trunk is thin and of a grayish white. The leaves are 
borne by short petioles, and are divided into four or five rounded 
lobes, of which the two nearest the summit are the broadest ; 
they are coriaceous, of a dusky green above and grayish beneath. 
Toward autumn the ribs are of a rosy tint, instead of a purplish 
red like those of the scarlet oak. The fructification is annual 
and seldom fails. It puts forth flowers in May, which are 
followed by small, oval acorns, covered for a third of their length, 
with a slightly rugged^ grayish cup. They are very sweet, and 
form a delicious food for squirrels and wild turkeys ; hence the 
tree is sometimes called Turkey Oak. 

The wood of this tree is yellowish, with no tint of red. 
Growing upon a less humid soil it is less elastic, but finer-grained, 
stronger and more durable, than the white oak : hence it is 
preferred for posts, and it is used with advantage by wheelwrights 
and coopers. . In ship building it is used principally for the knees, 
and is admitted into the lower part of the frame. It rarely 
furnishes side planks or timber of considerable length, for this 
reason it is less esteemed than the white oak. The staves made 
of this tree are preferable to those of the white oak. 



DENDROLOGY. 



277 



MossT-Cup Oak. Quercus oUvcBformis. 




This species is very rare 
and little known except in 
the state of New York on 
the banks of the Hudson 
above Albany, in Genessee, 
and in the northern part of 
Pennsylvania. 

This tree is 60 or 70 feet 
in height, with a spacious 
summit and an imposing 
aspect. The bark is white 
and laminated 5 but the tree 
is chiefly remarkable for the 
form and disposition of its 
secondary branches, which 
are slender, flexible, and 
always inclined towards the 
earth. Its leaves are of a light green above and whitish beneath j 
they resemble those of the white oak in color, but differ from 
them in form, being larger, and very deeply and irregularly 
laciniated, with rounded lobes so various in shape that it is 
impossible to find two leaves that are ahke. Its fructification is 
annual. The flowers appear in May and are succeeded by 
acorns of an elongated, oval form, and are inclosed in cups of 
nearly the same configuration, of which the scales are prominent 
and recurved, except near the edge, where they terminate in 
slender, flexible filaments : from this peculiarity is derived the 
n?ime of Mossy- Cup Oak. 

The wood of this tree is not better than that of the white oak, 
though far superior to that of the red oak. 



PLATE LXXXII. 
Fig.]. A leaf. Fig. 2. Tlie fruit. 



278 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



Pin Oak. Quercus palustris. 




PLATE LXXXIII. 

FiE. I. A loaf. Fis. 2. The fruit. 



This species is found In 
Massachusetts, but is less 
common than in the vicinity 
of New York, in New Jersey, 
Pennsylvania and Maryland. 
It is abundant beyond the 
mountains, in Ohio, East 
Tennessee and the country 
of the Illinois. It is said not 
to exist in Maine, Vermont 
and the Southern States. 
It is called Pin Oak in the 
lower part of New York, 
and in New Jersey, and 
Swamp Spanish Oak, in 
Pennsylvania, Delaware and 
Maryland. The last of these 
denominations is sufficiently appropriate ; but we have preferred 
the second, because it is less liable to mistake, and is indicative 
of a characteristic arrangement of the branches. 

The pin oak Is a tall tree, which grows constantly in moist 
places, and of preference about the swamps inclosed in the 
forests. In these situations It Is frequently more than 80 feet 
high and 3 or 4 feet in diameter. Its secondary branches are 
more slender and more numerous than Is common in so large a 
tree, and are intermingled so as to give it at a distance the 
appearance of being stuffed. This singular disposition renders 
it distinguishable at first sight in the winter. These small limbs 
die as the tree advances, which gives the tree the appearance of 
having pins or trunnels driven into It : whence the name of Pin 
Oak. The leaves are smooth, of a pleasing green, supported by 
long petioles, deeply lacinlated and very similar to those of the 
scarlet oak, from which they differ principally In their proportions. 
This tree fructifies once in two years. The flowers put forth in 



DENnROi.onv. 



279 



the month of May and are succeeded by small, round acorns, 
contained in flat, shallow cups, of which the scales are closely 
applied one upon another. 

The bark upon the oldest trunk is scarcely cracked, and 
consists almost wholly of a very thick, cellular integument. The 
wood is coarse-grained, with the pores open and larger than those 
of the scarlet and red oaks : though stronger and more tenacious 
than those species, it is little esteemed for durability. It is used 
for the axletrees of mill wheels when white oak of sufficient 
dimensions cannot be procured ; it is also sometimes, though 
rarely, made into staves, as the species is little multiplied 
compared with the scarlet, red and black oaks. 



Willow Oak. Quercvs phellos. 

This species which is 
remarkable for its foliage, 
makes its first appearance in 
the environs of Philadelphia ; 
but it is more common and 
of a larger size in Virginia, 
the Carolinas and Georgia, 
where the milder temperature 
of the winter is evidently 
favorable to its growth. It 
is seen, however, only in the 
maritime parts of those states, 
where the surface is moun- 
tainous and the climate more 
severe. From the analogy 
of soil and climate, it is 
probably found in Lower 

Louisiana. It commonly grows in cool, moist places on the 

borders of swamps. 

The willow oak, in favorable situations, attains the height of 50 

or 60 feet with a diameter of 20 or 24 inches. The trunk, even 




Fig. 1. 



PLATE LXXXIV. 

A leaf. Fig. 2. Tlie fruit. 



280 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

at an advanced age, is covered with a smooth bark, remarkable 
for the thickness of its cellular integument. The leaves are two 
or three inches long, of a light green, smooth, narrow, entire, 
and similar to those of the willow, whence is derived the name 
of Willow Oak, which is used in every part of North America 
where the tree is known. This tree fructifies once in two years. 
It flowers in May and bears acorns of a dark brown color, which 
are small, bitter and contained in shallow cups slightly coated 
with scales. 

The wood is reddish and coarse-grained. It is too porous to 
contain wine or spirituous liquor, and its staves are classed with 
those of red oak. The quantity, however, is small, as the 
tree is so little multiplied that alone it would not supply the 
consumption for two years. It possesses great strength and 
tenacity, and splits more readily than the white oak ; hence 
after being thoroughly seasoned, it is employed for the felloes of 
wheels. These are the principal uses to which it seems adapted, 
and for these it is less proper than the post oak and white oak. 
It is sometimes employed in Georgia for fencing the plantations, 
and lasts only eight or nine years. As fuel, it is very little 
esteemed. 



DENDROLOGY. 



281 



Yellow Oak. Qiiercus prinus acuminata. 




Fig. 1. 



PLATE LXXXV. 

A leaf. Fitr. 2. Tlie fruit. 



The banks of the Delaware 
mny be assumed as the 
northern limit of the Yellow 
Oak. It scarcely exists in 
the maritime parts of the 
Southern States. In the 
IMiddle and Western States, 
though more common, it is 
still rare in comparison with 
many other trees, and is 
sometimes lost sight of by 
the traveller for several days 
in succession. It is also 
found in the country of 
the Illinois. It is invariably 
found in valleys where the 
soil is loose, deep and fertile. 
The Yellow Oak is a fine tree 70 or 80 feet high and 2 feet 
hi diameter, with branches tending rather to close round the 
trunk than to diffuse themselves horizontally. The bark upon 
the trunk is whitish, very slightly furrowed, and sometimes 
divided into plates, like that of the swamp white oak. The 
leaves are lanceolate, regularly toothed, of a light green above 
and whitish beneath. It fructifies annually and blooms in the 
month of May. The acorns are contained in scaly cups and 
are sweeter than those of any other species in the United States. 
The wood of this tree is yellowish, though the tint is not bright 
enough to fit it for peculiar uses. Its pores are partly obliterated, 
irregularly disposed, and more numerous than those of any other 
American oak : this organization must impair the strength and 
render it less durable than the chesnut white oak, and the rock 
chesnut oak. As this tree is so thinly disseminated it has not 
been appropriated to any particular use in the arts. 
36 



289 SYLVA AMERICANA, 



Small Chesnut Oak. Quercus pri7ius chinquapin. 

In the Northern and Middle States this pretty little species is 
called Small or Dwarf Chesnut Oak, from the resemblance of its 
leaves to those of the rock chesnut oak ; as there is also a likeness 
between its foliage and that of the chinquapin, it is known in 
East Tennessee and in the upper jjart of the Carolinas by the 
name of Chinquapin Oak. This tree is not generally diffused, 
but is rare in many places adapted to its constitution, and is 
usually found in particular districts, where, alone, or mingled 
with the bear oak, it sometimes covers tracts of more than 100 
acres. The presence of these species is a certain proof of the 
barrenness of the soil. It is found in Rhode Island, New York, 
Pennsylvania and in Virginia on the Alleghanies. 

This species and another which is found in the pine forests of 
the Southern States rarely exceeds 30 inches in height : they 
are the most diminutive of the American oaks. The leaves are 
oval-acuminate, regularly but not deeply denticulated, of a light 
green above and whitish beneath. Its fructification is annual, 
and its flowers put forth in May and are followed by acorns of a 
middling size, somewhat elongated, similarly rounded at both 
ends, inclosed for one-third of their length in scaly, sessile, cups: 
they are very sweet. 

Nature seems to have sought a compensation for the diminutive 
size of this shrub in the abundance of its fruit : the stem which 
is sometimes no bigger than a quill, is stretched at full length 
upon the ground by the weight of the thickly-clustering acorns. 
United with the bear oak, which is of the same size and equally 
prolific, perhaps it might be cultivated with advantage for its 
fruit. 



DENDROLOGY. 



283 




Swamp White Oak. Quercus prinus discolor. 

This^species is known in 
the United States only by 
the name of SivanvplJVhite 
Oak, which indicates at once 
the soil which it prefers and 
its analogy to the white oak. 
Except the state of Maine 
and the maritime parts of 
the Southern States, it is dif- 
fused throughout the Union : 
in comparison, however, 
with some other species, it 
is not common. 

The swamp white oak is a 
beautiful tree more than 70 
feet in height, of which the 
vegetation is vigorous and 
the foliage luxuriant. The leaves are six or eight inches long 
and four inches broad, smooth and of a dark green above, downy 
and lighter colored beneath ; they are entire towards the base, 
which is cuneiform, but are widened and coarsely toothed for 
two-thirds of their length towards the summit. The tree is 
distinguished, when young, by the form of its base and by the 
down upon the leaves, which is more sensible to the touch than 
on any analogous species. At a riper age the lower side of the 
leaf is of a silvery white, which is strikingly contrasted with the 
bright green of the upper surface ; hence the specific name of 
discolor. This tree is of annual fructification and flowers in the 
month of May. The acorns are sweet, but seldom abundant ; 
they are rather large, of a brown complexion, and contained in a 
spreading cup edged by short, slender filaments, more downy 
within than those of any other oak, and supported by peduncles 
one or two inches in length. 



PLATE LXXXVI. 
Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. Tlie fruit. 



284 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



The trunk of this tree is clad in a scaly, grayish-white bark. 
The wood is strong, elastic and heavier than that of the white 
oak. In stocks more than a foot in diameter the grain is fine 
and close, and the pores are nearly obliterated. It splits easily 
and in a straight line, and is esteemed next in quality to the 
white oak, though from its rareness it is but accidentally employed 
in the arts. 

Rock Chksnut Oak. Qitercus j^rmits monticola. 



This oak is among the 
species which are not scat- 
tered promiscuously in the 
forests, but which grow only 
in particular situations and 
easily escape observation ; 
hence it is difficult to assign 
its limits with precision. It 
probably does not extend 
north beyond Vermont, nor 
eastward beyond New 
Hampshire ; it is likewise 
a stranger to the maritime 
parts of the Southern States. 
It is most frequently met 
with in the Middle and in 
some parts of the Northern 
States ; but it is rarely mingled with other trees in the forests, 
and is found only on high grounds thickly strewed with stones or 
covered with rocks. In Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland, 
it is known by the name of Chesnut Oak, and by that of Rock 
Oak on the banks of the Hudson and the shores of Lake 
Champlain. Both are significant ; the first, of a remarkable 
resemblance of the bark to that of the chesnut ; and the second, 
of the situations, in which the tree is exclusively found. For 
this reason and to avoid confounding it with the chesnut oak and 
the yellow oak, we have blended the two denominations. 




PLATK LXXXVII. 
Fi2. 1. A leaf. Fi2. 2. The fruit. 



DENDROLOGY. 285 

The rock chesnut oak is sometimes 3 feet in diameter, and 
more than 60 feet high ; but as its growth is usually repressed by 
the poverty of the soil, it rarely attains these dimensions. In 
open, elevated situations it spreads widely, and forms a head 
like that of the apple tree. The beautiful appearance of this tree 
when growing in a fertile soil, is owing equally to the symmetry 
of its form and to the luxuriance of its foliage. The leaves are 
five or six inches long, and three or four broad, oval and 
uniformly denticulated, with the teeth more regular but less acute 
than those of the chesnut oak. When beginning to open in the 
spring, they are covered with a thick down ; but, when fully 
expanded, they are perfectly smooth, whitish beneath, and of a 
delicate texture. The petiole is of a yellow color, which becomes 
lighter towards autumn. The fructification of this tree is annual. 
The flowers appear in the month of May, and are succeeded by 
brown acorns of an oblong-oval shape, and sometimes an inch in 
length, a third part of which is contained in a spreading cup 
covered with loose scales : they are sweet-tasted and are a 
favorite nourishment of wild and domesticated animals. 

When the trunk of this tree exceeds a foot in diameter, it is 
covered with a thick, hard, deeply-furrowed bark, which is 
esteemed in some parts of the United States for tanning. That 
of the secondary branches and of stocks of less than six inches 
thick is commonly employed. The epidermis is strongly impreg- 
nated with the tanning principle, which in other species resides 
only in the cellular integument. The wood is reddish like that of 
the white oak, but its pores are more open, though its specific 
gravity is greater : pieces of both species being thrown into 
water, the white oak remains on the surface and the other at the 
bottom. Its staves are not used to contain spirituous liquors. At 
New York and on the banks of the Hudson, it holds the next 
place to the white oak in the construction of vessels. It is 
employed for the lower part of the frame, and oftener for the 
knees and the ribs. For fuel this wood is next in price to the 
hickory. 



286 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



Chesnut White Oak. Queixus prinus palustris. 




PLATE LXXXVIII. 
Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. The fruit. 



The Chesnut White Oak 
is first seen in the vicinity of 
Philadelphia ; but it is less 
multiplied and less amply- 
developed than farther south. 
It is most abundant in the 
maritime parts of the Caro- 
linas, Georgia and East 
Florida, and is probably 
found on the banks of the 
Mississippi, which are analo- 
gous to those of many rivers 
of the Southern States. In 
Pennsylvania this species is 
confounded with the rock 
chesnut oak, which it strik- 
ingly resembles ; farther 
south, where the rock chesnut oak is unknown, it is called 
Chesnut White Oak, Swamp Chesnut Oak, and generally on the 
Savannah White Oak. This tree grows only in large swamps 
that border the rivers or are inclosed in the forests ; but it always 
prefers spots that are rarely inundated, where the soil is loose, 
deep, constantly cool and luxuriantly fertile. 

Under favorable circumstances the chesnut oak arrives at the 
height of 90 feet with a proportional diameter. Its straight trunk, 
undivided and of an uniform size to the height of 50 feet, and its 
expansive tufted summit, form one of the most beautiful and 
majestic trees of the North American forests. Its leaves are 
eight or nine inches long, four or five inches broad, obovate, 
deeply toothed, of a light, shining green above and whitish 
beneath. Its fructification is annual. The flowers make their 
appearance in May and are followed by brown, oval acorns, 
larger than those of any other species except the over-cup white oak, 
and are contained in shallow, scaly cups. Being sweet-flavored. 



DENDROLOGY. 287 

and sometimes abundant, they are sought with avidity by wild 
and domesticated animals. 

The wood, which is affected by the richness of the soil, is 
inferior to that of the post oak, the white oak and even that of 
the over-cup oak ; and its pores, though nearly obliterated, are 
more open. But it is superior to many other species, and is 
employed for wheelwrights' works and for other objects which 
require strength and durability. As it splits in a straight line, 
and may be divided into fine shreds it is chosen by the Negroes 
for baskets and brooms. Its pores are too open to contain wine 
or spirituous liquors. In the form of rails it lasts twelve or fifteen 
years, or a third longer than the willow oak. It is highly 
esteemed as fuel. 

Running Oak. Quercus pumila. 

This species is the smallest oak hitherto discovered in the 
known world. Like the upland willow oak, it is confined to the 
maritime parts of the Carolinas, Georgia and the Floridas, where 
it is called Running Oak. It springs with that species in the 
pine-barrens, amidst the numerous varieties of whortleberry and 
other plants which overspread the ground wherever there is a 
little moisture in the soil and the layer of vegetable mould is a 
few inches thick. 

The running oak rarely rises more than 20 inches in height 
and 2 Hnes in diameter. The leaves are of a reddish tint 
in the spring, and turn green as the season advances. When 
fully developed they are entire, smooth, of an elongated, oval 
shape, and about two inches in length. It fructifies once in two 
years and flowers in the month of May. The acorns are small, 
round and similar to those of the willow and water oaks ; they 
are few in number, and seldom arrive at maturity. No particular 
use is made of this shrub either in the mechanic arts or for 
medicine. 



288 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 




I'LATE LXXXIX. 
1. A leaf. Fi''. 2. Tin 



Red Oak. ^uercus rubra. 

Next to the gray oak this 
species is found in the 
highest hititude of all the 
American oaks, and is one 
of the most common species 
in the Northern States and 
Canada. Farther south, 
particularly in the lower part 
of New York, New Jersey, 
the upper districts of Penn- 
sylvania, and along the whole 
range of the AUeghanies, it 
is nearly as abundant as the 
scarlet and black oaks ; but 
it is much less common in 
Maryland, the lower part of 
Virginia, and the maritime 
parts of the Carolinas and Georgia. Its perfect deveiopement 
requires a cool climate and a fertile soil. It is universally known 
by the name of Red Oak, except in some parts of Pennsylvania, 
where it is sometimes confounded with the Spanish oak. 

The red oak is a tall, wide-spreading tree, frequently more 
than 80 feet high, and 3 or 4 feet in diameter. Its leaves are 
smooth and shining on both sides, large and deeply laciniated, 
and rounded at the base ; they are larger and have deeper and 
narrower sections on the young stocks than on the middle or the 
summit of the full-grown tree ; these last resemble the leaves of 
the Spanish oak, which, however, are always downy beneath, 
while those of the red oak are perfectly smooth. In autumn 
they change to a dull red, and turn yellow before they fall. The 
fructification is biennial and it flowers in May. The acorns are 
very large and abundant, rounded at the summit, compressed at 
the base, and contained in flat cups covered with narrow, compact 
scales. They are voraciously eaten by wild and domesticated 
animals. 



DKNUttOLOGY. 



289 



The bark of this tree consists of a very thin epidermis with a 
thick cellular integument. It is extensively used in tanning, 
but is less esteemed than that of the Spanish, black and rock 
chesnut oaks. The wood is reddish and coarse-grained, and the 
pores are often large enough for the passage of a hair : it is strong 
but not durable, and is the last among the oaks to be employed 
in building. Its principal use is for staves, which, at home, are 
used to contain salt provisions, flour, and other dry wares. It is 
little esteemed for fuel. 



Black on Quercitron Oak. Qnercus tincioria. 



Except the state of Maine, 
the northern part of New 
Hampshire, Vermont and 
Tennessee, this species is 
found throughout the United 
States on both sides of the 
Alleghanies and is eveiy 
where called Black Oak, 
except in some parts of New 
England, where it is called 
Yellow Oak. It is more 
abundant in the Middle 
States, and in the upper 
parts of the Carolinas and 
Georgia, than on the southern 
coast. It flourishes in a 
poorer soil than the white 
oak. In Maryland and certain districts of Virginia, where the 
soil is lean, gravelly and uneaven, it is constantly united in the 
forests with the scarlet, Spanish and post oaks, and mockernut 
hickory, with which the yellow pine is also frequently mingled. 
There are several varieties of this species of oak, all of which 
afford the quercitron bark, so highly esteemed in dyeing, staining, 
tanning, etc. 

37 




PLATE Xr. 
A leaf. Fig. ;>. Tlie fruit. 



2&0 SYLVA AMERICANA, 

This oak is one of the loftiest trees of the American forests, 
being 80 or 90 feet high and 4 or 5 feet in diameter. The 
trunk is covered with a deeply furrowed bark of middling 
thickness, and generally of a black or very deep-brown color, 
whence probably is derived the name oi Black Oak. North-east 
of Pennsylvania the complexion of the bark is the only character 
by which it can be distinguished from the red, scarlet and gray 
oaks, when the leaves are fallen. Farther south this character 
is not sufficient to distinguish it from the Spanish oak, whose bark 
is of the same color, and recourse must be had to the buds, 
which on the black oak are longer, more acuminate, and more scaly. 
All doubt may be removed by chewing a bit of the cellular 
integument of each : that of the black oak is very bitter and gives 
a yellow tinge to the saliva, which is not the case with the other. 
The leaves are large, deeply laciniated, and divided into four or 
five lobes : they resemble those of the scarlet oak, but have less 
deep and open sinuses, are less shining, of a duller green, and in 
the spring and during a part of the summer have their surface 
roughened with small glands which are sensible to the eye and 
to the touch. The same appearance is observed on the young 
shoots, the leaves which change in the autumn to a dull red, 
and those of the old trees to yellow, beginning with the petiole. 
This tree fructifies once in two years and its flowers put forth in 
May. The acorns generally grow in clusters, are of a brown 
color, sub-sessile and about half buried in a thick, scaly cup. 
This species is more remarkable than any other for producing 
the oak apple. 

The wood is reddish and coarse-grained, with empty pores ; 
it is, however, more esteemed for strength and durability than 
that of any other oak of biennial fructification. As it is abundant 
in the Middle and Northern States, it furnishes a large proportion 
of the red oak staves exported to the West Indies, or employed 
at home to contain flour, salted provisions and molasses. It is 
said to furnish the best of fuel except the hickories. The bark 
is extensively used in tanning, as it is easily procured and is rich 
in tannin. The only inconvenience which attends it is imparting 
a yellow color to the leather, which must be discharged by a 



DENDROLOGY. 291 

particular process, to prevent its staining the stockings : it is a 
great ef ror to assert that this color augments its value. From the 
cellular integument of the black oak is obtained the quercitron, 
of which great use is made in dyeing wool, silk and paper 
hangings. This substance was first prepared as a dye by Dr. 
Bancroft ; he has given it the name of quercitron, by which it is 
now universally recognized. 

Before extracting the color from the bark, the epidermis, or 
external covering, ought to be removed by shaving. The 
remaining parts being then properly ground by mill stones, 
separate partly into a light, fine powder, and partly into stringy 
filaments or fibres, which last yield but about half as much color 
as the powder, and therefore care should be always taken to 
employ both together, and as nearly as possible in their natural 
proportions, otherwise the quantity of color produced may either 
greatly exceed or fall short of what may be expected. The 
quercitron thus prepared and proportioned, says Dr. Bancroft, 
will generally yield as much color as eight or ten times its weight 
of the weld plant, and about four times as much as its weight of 
the chipped fustic. The coloring matter, continues he, most 
nearly resembles that of the weld plant ; with this advantage, 
however, that it is capable alone of producing more cheaply all, 
or very nearly all, the effects of every other yellow dyeing drug ; 
and, moreover, some effects which are not attainable by any 
other means yet known. The coloring matter of quercitron 
readily dissolves in water, even at a blood heat. If the infusion 
be strained and left at rest, a quantity of resinous matter subsides 
in the form of a whitish powder, which produces the same effects 
in dyeing as the part remaining in solution. The clear effusion 
being evaporated and dried, affords an extract equal in weight to 
about one twelfth of the bark from which it is obtained. Much 
care, however, must be employed in procuring this extract, so as 
to make it produce colors equal in beauty to those obtained 
directly from the bark itself. If the evaporation be carried on 
rapidly, and the heat be too great, the color is tarnished, probably, 
as Dr. Bancroft conjectures, from the absorption of oxygen, the 
color thus undergoing a sort of semi-combustion. On the other 



292 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

hand, if the evaporation be conducted too slowly, the colonng 
matter suffers another change, and soon spoils by keeping. The 
decoction of quercitron is of a yellowish-brown color, which is 
darkened by alkalies, and brightened by acids. A solution of 
alum being added to it, separates a small proportion of the 
coloring matter, which subsides hi the form of a deep yellow 
precipitate. The solutions of tin produce a more copious 
precipitate, and of a beautiful, lively, yellow color. Sulphate of 
iron causes a copious olive precipitate j sulphate of copper, a 
yellow of an olive cast. To dye wool, it is sufficient to boil the 
quercitron with an equal weight of alum : in dipping the stuff 
the deepest shade is given first, and afterwards the straw color : 
enliven the tint the stuff may be passed, in coming out of the 
dye through water whitened with a small portion of chalk : but 
a brighter color is obtained by means of a solution of tin. 
Quercitron may be substituted for woad, in imparting all the 
shades of yellow to silk. It is highly valuable as an article of 
commerce, which has often been sold at ^40 or $50 a ton. 
Large quantities are annually exported into Europe from the 
ports of the Middle States, 



DENDROLOGY. 



29t 



Live Oak. Quercus virens. 




PLATE xrr. 

Fig. \. A leaf. Fig. 2. The fruit. 



This species which is 
confined to the maritime 
parts of the Southern States, 
the Florid as and Louisiana, 
is known only by the name 
of Live Oak. The climate 
becomes mild enough for its 
growth near Norfolk in Vir- 
ginia, though it is less mul- 
tiplied and less vigorous 
than in a more southern 
latitude. From Norfolk it 
spreads along the coast for 
a distance of fifteen or 
eighteen hundred miles, 
extending beyond the mouth 
of the Mississippi. The sea 
air seems essential to its existence, for it is rarely found in the 
forests upon the main land, and never more than fifteen or twenty 
miles from the shore. It is most abundant, the most fully 
developed, and of the best quality, about the bays and creeks, 
and on the fertile islands which in great numbers lie scattered 
for several hundred miles along the coast. 

The live oak is commonly 40 or 50 feet in height, and from 
one to two feet in diameter ; but it is sometimes much larger. 
Like most other trees, it has, when insulated, a wide and tufted 
summit. Its trunk is sometimes undivided for 18 or 20 feet, 
but often ramifies at half this height, and at a distance it has the 
appearance of an old apple tree or pear tree. The leaves are 
oval, coriaceous, of a dark green above and whitish beneath : 
they persist during several years, and are partially renewed every 
spring. On trees reared upon plantations, or growing in cool 
soils, they are one half larger, and are often denticulated : upon 
stocks of two or three years they are commonly very distinctly 



294 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

toothed. It fructifies once in two years. The flowers make 
their appearance in the month of May, which are succeeded by 
acorns of a lengthened, oval form, nearly black, and contained 
in shallow, grayish, pedunculated cups. 

The bark upon the trunk of this tree is blackish, hard and 
thick. The wood is heavy, compact, fine-grained, and of a 
yellowish color, which deepens as the tree advances in age. The 
number and closeness of the concentric circles evince the 
slowness of its growth. As it is very strong, and incomparably 
more durable than the best white oak, it is highly esteemed in 
ship building, and is consumed not only in the country which 
produces it, but still more extensively in the Northern States. 
From its great durability when perfectly seasoned it is almost 
exclusively employed for the upper part of the frames of vessels. 
To compensate its excessive weight it is joined with the red 
cedar, which is extremely light and equally lasting. This tree 
does not afford large timber ; but its wide and branching summit 
makes amends for this disadvantage by furnishing a great number 
of knees, of which there is never a sufficient quantity in the dock 
yards. This wood is said to make the best of trunnels. It is 
also employed for the naves and felloes of heavy wheels, for 
which it is superior to the white oak : it is more proper, also, 
for screws and for the cogs of mill wheels. The bark is 
excellent for tanning, but is only accidentally employed, and its 
wood is highly esteemed for fuel. 



RHODODENDRON. 

Decandria Monogynia. Linn. Rhododendrae. Juss. Tonic, narcotic. 

Dwarf Rose Bat. Rhododron maximum. 

The Dwarf Rose Bay is found on Long Island and the river 
Hudson below the highlands, in the state of New York and in 
Dedham, Massachusetts ; but these places may be considered 
far beyond the limits where this shrub ceases to be found in the 
forests. It is abundant, on the contrary, in the Middle States, 



OENUROLocr. 295 

and in the upper parts, particularly in the mountainous tracts of 
the Southern States. It is almost exclusively seen on the 
borders of creeks and rivers, and is observed to be more 
multiplied in approaching the Alleghanies, till, in the midst of 
these ranges, especially in Virginia, it becomes so abundant on 
the sides of the torrents, as to form impenetrable thickets, in 
which the bear finds a secure retreat from the pursuit of the dogs 
and the hunters. Deeply-shaded situations, in the vicinity of 
cool and crystal waters flowing among rocks, where the 
atmosphere is laden with vapor, are the most congenial to its 
growth. Shade and humidity seem indispensable to the growth 
of this shrub. 

The dwarf rose bay generally presents itself in the form of a 
shrub, less than 10 feet in height ; but it sometimes attains the 
height of 20 or 25 feet with a diameter of 4 or 5 inches. When 
the leaves are beginning to unfold themselves they are rose-colored, 
and covered with red down ; when fully expanded they are 
smooth, five or six inches long, of an elongated-oval form, and 
of a thick, coriaceous texture. They are evergreen, and are 
partially renewed once in three or four years. It puts forth 
flowers in the month of June and July, which are commonly 
rose-colored, with yellow dots on the inside, and sometimes they 
are perfectly white. They are always collected at the extremity 
of the branches in beautiful groups, which derive additional lustre 
from the foliage which surrounds them. The seeds are extremely 
minute, and are contained in capsules that open in autumn, for 
their escape. 

The wood is hard, compact and fine-grained ; but it is inferior 
in these respects to that of the mountain laurel. This wood is 
appropriated to no particular use in the arts. 



296 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



ROBINIA. 



Diadelphia Decandria. Linn. LegumliiosiB. Juss. Jlpcrient, diurelic, 

emollient. 



Locust. Robinia pseudo acacia. 




From the excellent prop- 
erties of its wood, and the 
beauty of its foliage and 
flowers, the Locust ranks 
in the first class of the trees 
of the American forests. In 
the Atlantic States, it begins 
to grow naturally in Penn- 
sylvania, between Lancaster 
and Harrisburgh, in the 
latitude of 40° 20'. West 
of the mountains, it is found 
two or three degrees farther 
north ; which is explained 
by an observation already 
repeated, that, in proceeding 
towards the west, the climate 
becomes milder and the soil more fertile. But the locust is most 
multiplied in the south-west, and abounds in all the valleys 
between the chains of the Alleghany Mountains, particularly in 
Lime Stone V^alley. It is also common in all the Western States, 
and in the territory comprised between the Ohio, the Illinois, the 
lakes and the Mississippi. It is not found in the states east of 
the river Delaware, nor does it grow spontaneously in the 
maritime parts of the Middle and Southern States, to the distance 
of from 50 to 100 miles from the sea, all the stocks that are seen 
in these parts having been planted at different periods. The soil 
in which it appears to thrive best, is a light and somewhat sandy 
loam in situations having a southern aspect. 



PLATE xcii. 

Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. Apod. 



DENDROLOGY. 297 

The dimensions of the locust vary with the soil and climate: 
thus In Pennsylvania, between Harrlsburgh and Carlisle, where 
it begins to appear, it is much smaller than in Virginia, and 
particularly in Kentucky and West Tennessee, which are situated 
two or three degrees farther south, and where the soil is more 
fertile. In these states it sometimes exceeds four feet in diameter, 
and 70 or 80 feet in height ; which is twice the size it attains 
east of the mountains. On the trunk and large limbs of the old 
locust, the bark is very thick and deeply furrowed. The young 
tree, till it attains the diameter of two or three inches, is armed 
with formidable thorns, which disappear in its mature age. The 
foliage is light and agreeable to the eye. Each leaf is composed 
of opposite leaflets, eight, ten, or twelve, and sometimes more in 
number, surmounted by an odd one. The leaflets are nearly 
sessile, oval, thin, of a fine texture, and of so smooth a surface 
that the dust is blown off from them as It alights. These leaves 
are rarely injured by insects. The flowers, which open in the 
month of May, are disposed in numerous, pendulous bunches : 
they are perfectly white, and diffuse the most delicious odor. 
Their fine effect, heightened by the fresh tint of the light green 
foliage, renders this tree one of the most admired in Europe 
among the ornamental trees. To the flower succeeds a narrow, 
flat pod, about three inches long, containing five or six small 
seeds, which are commonly brown, and sometimes black. 

The wood of the locust, which is commonly of a greenish- 
yellow color, marked with brown veins, is very hard, compact, 
and susceptible of a brilliant polish ; it is possessed of great 
strength with but little elasticity. Its most valuable property is 
that of the power of resisting decay longer than almost any other 
species of wood. In naval architecture the shipwrights use as 
much locust wood as they can procure. It is as durable as the 
live oak and the red cedar, with the advantage of being stronger 
than the one and lighter than the other. It enters, with the live 
oak, the white oak and the red cedar, into the upper and the 
lower parts of the frame, though in a very small proportion. It 
is also used for the trunnels, or the pins destined to attach the 
side planks to the frame. Instead of decaying they acquire with 
38 



298 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

time an extreme hardness, and they are used, to the exclusion of 
all others, in the ports of the Middle and Northern States. In 
the construction of houses, even of such as are wholly of wood, 
the locust is not extensively employed in those parts of the 
country where it is the most multiplied : the use to which it is 
more particularly applied is to support the sills or the beams on 
which the frame rests. These sills are of oak, and if they were 
placed immediately on the ground, they would decay more 
rapidly than the locust. From the hardness of the wood when 
seasoned, from the fineness of its grain, and its lustre when 
polished, it has been extensively substituted by turners for the 
box wood in many species of light work, such as small domestic 
wares, toys, etc. It is highly esteemed for posts of fence and 
for fuel. This invaluable property of durability, which is 
possessed by this tree in a great degree far superior to that of 
any other except the red mulberry, sufticiently indicates the 
purposes to which it may be advantageously applied ; but its use 
is limited to the objects which we have enumerated. 

There are said to be several varieties of the locust growing in 
the United States ; those trees are reputed the best whose heart 
is red ; the next in esteem are those with a greenish-yellow heart ; 
and the least valuable are those with a white heart. From this 
variety in the color of the wood, which probably arises from a 
difference of soil, are derived the names of Red, Green and 
White Locust. In the Western States there is a variety which 
is sometimes called Black Locust. 



DENDROLOGY. 



299 




Rose-Flowering Locust. Rohinia viscosa. 

This species of locust is 
found only on that part of 
the Alleghanies which trav- 
erses Georgia and the Caro- 
linas in these states west of 
the mountains. It probably 
does not exist beyond the 
35th degree of latitude, nor 
in any of the lower parts of 
the Southern States j hence 
it appears to be confined to 
a very small tract. 

The rose-flowering locust 
is not so large as the pre- 
ceding species ; its ordinary 
PLATE xciii. stature does not exceed 40 

Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. A pod. feet, With a diameter of 1 

or 12 inches. Its branches, like those of the locust, are garnished 
with thorns, which, however, are smaller and less numerous. 
The annual shoots are of a dull-red color, and are covered with 
a viscid, adhesive humour. The foliage is thick and of a dusky 
green. The leaves are five or six inches long, and are composed 
of opposite leaflets, ten, twelve, or more in number, with a 
terminal odd one. The leaflets are about an inch in length, 
oval, nearly sessile, smooth, and of a fine texture. The flowers 
are in open bunches, four or five inches long. They are numerous 
and of a beautiful rose color, but destitute of fragrance. This 
tree not unfrequently blooms twice in a year, and it would form 
one of the most brilliant ornaments of the park and of the garden. 
The seeds are small and contained in hairy pods two or three 
inches long, and three or four lines broad. 

The wood of this tree is of a greenish color, hke that of the 
common species, which it resembles also in its other properties : 
but the inferior size of the tree, notwithstanding its surprisingly 
rapid growth, renders it less interesting to the arts. 



300 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

SALIX. 

Dioacia Diandria. Linn. Amentaceae. Juss. Jlstringcnt, tonic, emollient. 

Champlain Willow. Salix ligustrina. 

This willow is found on the shores of Lake Champlain, 
particularly near the village of Skeensborough. It is about 25 
feet high and 7 or 8 inches in diameter : its first aspect resembles 
that of the black willow, but its leaves are longer, narrower, and 
accompanied at the base by cordiform, serrate stipulae. Its wood 
and branches are appropriated to no particular use. 

Shining Willow. Salix lucida. 

This tree is found only in the Northern and Middle States. It 
is found in moist but open grounds, and is more common on the 
edges of the salt meadows than in the interior of the forests ; it 
is also seen on the islands, not covered with woods, in the rivers 
and near the shores of the lakes. 

The shining willow attains the height of 18 or 20 feet ; but its 
ordinary elevation is 9 or 10 feet. This species is easily 
distinguished by the superior size of its leaves, which are 
oval-acuminate, denticulated, and sometimes four inches in 
length, brilliant and shining, hence its name. 

Baskets are made of the branches of this tree, when those of 
the European willow, which are preferable, cannot be obtained ; 
but it possesses no property that recommends it to attention. 



DENDROLOGY. 



301 



Black Willow. Salix nigra. 




PLATE XCIV. 
Pieure 1. The leaves. 



This species is the most 
common of the American 
willows. It is less multiplied 
in the Northern and Southern 
than in the Middle and 
especially in the Western 
States. It is found on the 
banks of the great rivers, 
such as the Susquehannah 
and the Ohio, and is called 
Black Willow or simply 

Willow. 

This tree is rarely more 

than 30 or 35 feet high and 

12 or 15 inches in diameter. 

It divides at a small height 



mto 



several divergent 



but 

not pendant limbs, and forms a spacious summit. The leaves 
are long, narrow, finely denticulated, of a light green, and 
destitute of stipulae. In the uniformity of its coloring the foliage 
of this species differs from that of the European willow, the 
lower surface of which is glaucous. 

Upon the trunk the bark is grayish and finely chapped ; upon 
the roots it is of a dark brown, whence may have been derived 
the specific name of the tree. The roots afford an intensely 
bitter decoction, which is considered in the country as a purifier 
of the blood, and as a preventative and a remedy for intermittent 
fevers. 



302 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



THUJA. 




Mono3cia Monadelphia. Linn. Coniferae, Juss. Expectorant, secernant, 

stimulant. 

American Arbor ViTiE. Thuja occidentalis. 

This species of Thuja, 
the only one that has been 
discovered in America, is 
the most interesting of the 
genus for the properties of 
its wood. The shores of 
Lake St. John in Canada 
may be considered as its 
northern limit. It abounds 
in favorable situations be- 
tween the parallels of 48° 
50' and 45° ; farther south 
it becomes rare, and solitary 
stocks are seen only on the 
sides of torrents and on the 
banks of certain rivers, as 
on the Hudson amidst the 
highlands, along the Erie canal from Rome to Montezuma, and 
near the rajpids of the Potomac in Virginia. Goat's Island, 
round which the Niagara divides itself to form the stupendous 
cataract which is one of the most wonderful spectacles of nature, 
is seen from the banks of the river to be bordered with the arbor 
vitse. In Canada and the northern parts of the United States 
this tree is called White Cedar, but in the state of Maine it is 
frequently designated by the name of Arbor Vitce, which we 
have preferred, though less common, because the other is 
appropriated to the Cupressus thyoides. In Lower Canada, 
New Brunswick, Vermont and the state of Maine, the arbor 
vitse is the most multipUed of the resinous trees, after the black 
and hemlock spruces. A cool soil seems to be indispensable to 



PLATE XCV. 

Fig. 1. A leaf with cones. 



DENDROLOGY. 303 

its growth. It is never seen upon tlie uplands, among the beeches, 
birches, etc., but is found on the rocky edges of the innumerable 
rivulets and small lakes which are scattered over these countries, 
and occupies in great part, or exclusively, swamps from 50 to 
100 acres in extent, some of which are accessible only in the 
winter when they are frozen and covered with several feet of 
snow. It abounds exactly in proportion to the degrees of 
humidity, and in the driest marshes it is mingled with the black 
and hemlock spruces, the yellow birch, the black ash, and a few 
stocks of white pine. In all of them the surface is covered with 
a. bed o( sj)hognum so thick and surcharged with moisture that 
the foot sinks half-leg deep while the water rises under its 
pressure. 

The arbor vitae is 45 or 50 feet in height and sometimes more 
than 10 feet in circumference ; usually, however, it is not more 
than 10 or 15 inches in diameter at five feet from the ground. 
A full-grown tree is easily distinguished by its shape and foliage. 
The trunk tapers rapidly from a very large base to a very slender 
summit, and is laden with branches for four-fifths of its height. 
The principal limbs, widely distant and placed at right angles 
with the body, give birth to a great number of drooping, secondary 
branches, whose foliage resembles that of the white cedar. On 
the borders of the lakes, where it has room and enjoys the benefit 
of the light and air, it rises perpendicularly, grows more rapidly 
and attains a greater size than when crowded in the swamps 
where its thick foHage intercepts the light and impedes the 
circulation of the air. In swamps its trunk is rarely strai^-ht but 
forms the arc of an ellipse or less inclined. Its sides swell into 
two large ridges, which are a continuation of the principal roots. 
The foliage is evergreen, numerously ramified, and flattened or 
spread. The leaves are small, opposite, imbricated scales ; when 
bruised they diffuse a strong, aromatic odor. The sexes are 
separate upon the same tree. The male flowers, which appear 
in the month of May, are in the form of small cones ; to the 
female blossoms succeeds a yellowish fruit about four lines in 
length, composed of oblong scales, which open through their 



304 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

whole length for the escape of several minute seeds surmounted 
by a short wing. 

The bark upon the body is slightly furrowed, smooth to the 
touch and very white when the tree stands exposed. The wood 
is reddish, somewhat odorous, very light, soft and fine-grained : 
in the northern part of the United States and in Canada it holds 
the first place for durability. From the shape of the trunk it is 
difficult to procure sticks of considerable lengdi and an uniform 
diameter ; hence in the state of Maine it is little employed for 
the frame of houses, though in other respects proper for this 
object, and still less for the covering. It is softer than white 
pine, and gives a weaker hold to nails, for which reason the 
Canadians always join it with some more solid wood. The most 
common use of this tree is for rural fence, for which it is highly 
esteemed. The posts last 35 or 40 years, and the rails 60, or 
three or four times as long as those of any other species. The 
posts subsist twice as long in argillaceous as in sandy lands. 
While the usage of such fences continue the utmost economy 
should be practised in cutting the arbor vitae according to the 
rules prescribed for resinous trees. In Canada it is selected for 
the light frame of bark canoes. Its branches garnished with 
leaves are formed into brooms, which exhale an agreeable, 
aromatic odor. Kalm affirms that the leaves, pounded and 
moulded with hog's lard, form an excellent ointment for the 
rheumatism. 

TILIA. 

Polyandria Monogynia. Linn. Tiliacese. Juss. Aperient, emollient. 

White Lime. Tilia alba. 

The'White Lime is not met with east of the river Delaware, 
but it is abundant in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and the 
Western States. It does not grow like the bass wood, in elevated 
places nor amidst the other trees of the forests, and is rarely 
seen except on the banks of rivers j it is particularly observed on 
those of the Susquehannah, the Ohio, and the streams which flow 
into them. 



DENDROLOGY. 



305 



The height of the white Ume tree rarely exceeds 40 feet, and 
its diameter 12 or 18 inches. Its young branches are covered 
with a smooth, silver-gray bark, by which it is recognized in the 
winter. The leaves are very large, denticulated, obliquely 
heart-shaped and pointed, of a dark green on the upper surface 
and white beneath, with small, reddish tufts on the angles of the 
principal nerves. This whitish tint is most striking on solitary 
trees exposed to the sun. The flowers come out in June, and, 
as well as the floral leaf, are larger than those of any other lime 
tree. - The petals are larger and whiter, and are impregnated 
with an agreeable odor. The seeds are round, or rather oval, 
and downy. 

The wood of this tree is white and tender, and is seldom 
appropriated to any use in the arts. 



American Lime or Bass Wood. Tilia Americana. 

Among the lime trees of 
North America east of the 
Mississippi, this species is 
the most multiplied. It 
exists in Canada, but is more 
common in the northern 
parts of the United States, 
where it is usually called 
Bass Wood; it becomes 
less frequent towards the 
south, and in Virginia, the 
Carolinas and Georgia, it is 
found only on the Alleghany 
Mountains. It is profusely 
muhiplied in Genessee which 
borders on Lake Erie and 
Lake Ontario. It generally 

grows on a loose, deep, fertile soil. 

The lime tree, in situations favorable to its growth, sometimes 

attains the elevation of more than 80 feet with a proportional 
39 




PLATE XCVI. 
Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 3. Tlie fruit. 



306 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

diameter, and its straight, uniform trunk, crowned with an ample 
and tufted summit, forms a beautiful tree. In newly-cleared 
lands the remains of these trees are distinguished by the numerous 
sprouts which cover the stumps, and the large roots, whose 
growth can be prevented only by stripping off the bark or by the 
operation of fire. The leaves of this tree are alternate, large, 
nearly round, finely denticulated, heart-shaped at the base, and 
abruptly terminated in a point at the summit. The flowers put 
forth in the month of June, and are borne by long peduncles, 
are pendulous, subdivided at the extremity, and garnished with a 
long, narrow, floral leaf. The seeds, which are ripe about the 
first of October, are round and of a gray color. 

The trunk is covered with a very thin bark; the cellular 
integument, separated from the epidermis and macerated in 
water, is formed into ropes ; in Europe they are used for well 
cords. The wood of this tree is vi^hite and tender : in the 
Northern States, where the tulip tree does not grow, it is used 
for the panels of carriage bodies, and the seats of chairs ; but as 
it is softer and splits more easily, it is less proper for these 
objects. On the Ohio the images affixed to the prow of vessels 
are made of this wood instead of the white pine. The flowers 
of this tree are probably endowed with the same antispasmodic 
and cephalic properties which are ascribed to those of the 
European species. 



DENDROLOGY. 



307 



Downy Lime Tree. Tilia pubescens. 




PLATE XCVII. 
Fig. I. A leaf. Fig. 2 The fruit. 



The Downy Lime Tree 
belongs to the southern parts 
of the United States and the 
Floridas. It grows of pref- 
erence on the borders of 
rivers and large marshes, 
where the soil is cool and 
fertile, but not exposed to 
inundation. It is little mul- 
tiplied, and consequently, is 
not taken notice of by the 
inhabitants ; for this reason, 
and because it is the only 
species of its kind in the 
maritime parts of the Caro- 
linas and of Georgia, it has 
received no specific denom- 
ination, and is simply called Lime Tree, to which we have added 
the epithet Downy, derived from a character of its foliage not 
observed in the preceding species. 

This tree is 40 or 50 feet high with a proportionate diameter. 
In its general appearance it resembles the American lime tree, 
which grows farther north, more than the white lime tree, which 
belongs to the Middle and Western States. Its leaves difFer 
widely in size according to the exposure in which they have 
grown ; in dry and open places they are only two inches in 
diameter, and are twice as large in cool and shaded situations. 
They are rounded, pointed at the summit, very obliquely truncated 
at the base, edged with fewer and more remote teeth than those 
of the other lime trees, and very downy beneath. The flowers, 
which appear in June, also, are more numerous and form larger 
bunches, and the seeds are round and downy. 

The wood is very similar to that of the other species, and is 
seldom appropriated to any use in the arts. 



308 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



ULMUS. 

Pentandria Digynia. Linn. Amentacese. Juss. Astringent, tonic, emollient. 

Wahoo. Ulmus alata. 

The Wahoo is a stranger 
to the Middle and Northern 
States, and to the mountain- 
ous regions of the AUeghanies J 
it is found only in the lower 
part of Virginia, in the mari- 
time districts of the Carolinas 
and Georgia, in West Ten- 
nessee and in some parts 
of Kentucky. Probably it 
grows also in the Floridas 
and in Lower Louisiana, of 
which the soil and climate 
are analogous to those of the 
maritime parts of the South- 
ern States, and of which the 
vegetable productions, with 
few exceptions, are the same. The name of Wahoo, given to 
this species of elm, in South Carolina and Georgia, is derived 
from the Indians. This tree grows of preference on the banks 
of rivers and in the great swamps inclosed in the pine-harrens. 

The wahoo is of a middling stature, commonly not exceeding 
30 feet, with a diameter of 9 or 10 inches. The branches are 
furnished throughout their whole length, on two opposite sides, 
with a fungous appendage, two or three lines wide, from which 
the name of alata, winged, has been given to the species. The 
leaves are borne by short petioles, and are oval, denticulated, 
and smaller than those of the white and red elms. The flowers, 
like those of other elms, open before the leaves. The seeds are 
fringed and differ from those of the white elm only by a little 
inferiority of size. 




Fig. 1. 



PLATE XCVIII. 
A leaf. Fig. 2. Tlie seed. 



DENDROLOGY. 



309 



The wood of this tree is fine-grained, more compact, heavier 
and stronger than that of the white ehii. The heart is of a dull 
red approaching to chocolate color, and always bears a large 
proportion to the sap. In South Carolina, it is employed for the 
naves of coach wheels, and is preferred for this object, to the 
tupelo, as being harder and tougher ; but it is appropriated to no 
other particular use. 



White Elm. JJlmus americana. 

This tree which is known 
throughout the United States 
by the name of White Elm, 
is found over an extensive 
tract of North American 
continent. Towards the 
north it is first seen in about 
the latitude of 48° 20', near 
the mouth of the river Mis- 
tassin, which empties into 
Lake St. John in Canada. 
It is abundantly multiplied 
from Nova Scotia to the 
extremity of Georgia, at a 
distance of 1200 miles. It 
is found also on banks of 
all the rivers of the Western 
States. But it appears to be the most multiplied and of the 
loftiest height between the 42d and 46th degrees of latitude, 
which comprises the provinces of Lower Canada, New Brunswick 
and Nova Scotia, the New England States and Genessee in the 
state of New York. This tree delights in low, humid, substantial 
soils, such as in the Northern States are called interval lands. 
In the Middle States it grows in similar situations, and on the 
borders of swamps. West of the mountains it abounds in all the 
fertile bottoms watered by the great rivers that swell the Ohio 
and the Mississippi, where it attains superior dimensions. 




PLATE xcix. 

Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. Tlie seed. 



310 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

In the Middle States, the white elm stretches to a great height, 
but does not approach the magnificence of vegetation which it 
displays in the countries peculiarly adapted to its growth. In 
clearing the primitive forests a few stocks are sometimes left 
standing ; insulated in this manner, it appears in all its majesty, 
towering to the height of 80 or 100 feet, with a trunk 4 or 5 
feet in diameter, regularly shaped, naked, and insensibly 
diminishing to the height of 60 or 70 feet, where it divides 
itself into two or three primary branches. The limbs, not 
widely divergent near the base, approach and cross each other 
eight or ten feet higher, and diffuse on all sides, long, flexible, 
pendulous branches, bending into regular arches and floating 
lightly in the air. A singularity in this tree which exists in no 
other ; two small limbs four or five feet long grow in a reversed 
position near the first ramification, and descend along the trunk, 
which is covered with a white, tender bark very deeply furrowed. 
The leaves of this tree are four or five inches long, borne by 
short petioles, alternate, unequal at the base, oval-acuminate and 
doubly denticulated. They are generally smaller than those of 
the red elm, of a thinner texture and a smoother surface, with 
more regular and prominent ribs. It differs, also, essentially 
from the red and European elm in its flowers and seeds : it 
blooms in the month of April, previous to the unfolding of the 
leaves ; the flowers are very small, of a purple color, supported 
by short, slender foot stalks, and united in bunches at the 
extremity of the branches. The seeds are contained in a flat, 
oval, fringed capsule, notched at the base : the season of their 
maturity is from the 15th of May to the first of June. 

The wood of this tree, like that of the European elm, is of a 
dark brown, and, cut transversely or obliquely to the longitudinal 
fibres, it exhibits the same numerous and fine undulations ; but 
it splits more easily, and has less compactness, hardness and 
strength. This wood is used at New York and farther north for the 
naves of coach wheels. It is not admitted into the construction 
of houses or of vessels, except occasionally in the state of Maine 
for keels, for which it is adapted only by its size. Its bark is 
easily detached during eight months of the year j soaked in water 



DENDROLOGY. 



311 



and suppled by pounding, it is used in the Northern States for 
the bottoms of common chairs. The wood makes good fuel, 
and produces ashes strongly impregnated with the alkaline 
principle. 



Red or Slippery Elm. Ulmus rubra. 



Except the maritime dis- 
tricts of the Carolinas and 
Georgia, this species of elm 
is found in all parts of the 
United States and of Canada. 
It bears the names of Red 
Elm, Slippery Elm and 
Moose Elm, of which the 
two first are the most com- 
mon. The French of Can- 
ada and Upper Louisiana 
call it Orme gras. This 
tree is less multipHed than 
the white elm, and the two 
species are rarely found 
together, as the red elm 
requires a substantial soil 
free from moisture, and even delights in elevated and open 
situations, such as the steep banks of the Hudson and the 
Susquehannah. In Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee it is more 
multiplied than east of the mountains, and grows on the richest 
lands of an uneaven surface. 

This tree is 50 or 60 feet high and one or two feet in diameter. 
In the winter it is distinguished from the white elm by its buds, 
which are larger and rounder, and which a fortnight before their 
developement, are covered with a russet down. The leaves are 
oval-acuminate, doubly denticulated and larger, thicker and 
rougher than those of the white elm, and emit an agreeable odor. 
It blooms in the month of April. The flowers are aggregated at 




PLATE c. 
Fig. 1. A leaf. Fig. 2. The seed. 



312 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

the extremity of the young shoots. The scales which surround 
the bunches of flowers are downy like the buds. The flowers 
and seeds differ from those of the wahoo ; the calyx is downy 
and sessile, and the stamens are short and of a pale-rose color ; 
the seeds are larger, destitute of fringe, round, and very similar 
to those of the European elms ; they are ripe about the last 
of May. 

The bark upon the trunk is brown ; the heart is coarse-grained 
and less compact than that of the white elm, and of a dull-red 
tinge. The wood, even in branches of one or two inches in 
diameter, consists principally of alburnum or sap. This species 
is stronger, more durable, when exposed to the weather, and of 
a better quality than the white elm ; hence in the Western States 
it is employed with greater advantage in the construction of 
houses, and sometimes of vessels on the banks of the Ohio. It 
is said to be the best wood in the United States for blocks, and 
its scarceness in the Atlantic States is the only cause of its limited 
consumption in the ports. It makes excellent rails, which are of 
long duration and are formed with little labor, as the trunk 
divides itself easily and regularly : this is probably the reason 
that it is never employed for the naves of wheels. This tree 
bears a strong resemblance to a species or a variety in Europe 
known by the name of Dutch Elm ; the bark of which is very 
mucilaginous and also contains sugar, a litde gallic acid and 
super tartrate of potass. Medicinally it is said to be alternative, 
tonic and diuretic, and to be useful for herpetic and leprous 
eruptions. If it ever do good in such cases, it must be from its 
mucilage sheathing the acid or acrid substances of the primce 
vitce, from which they arise. The leaves and the bark of the 
branches, macerated in water, yield a thick and abundant 
mucilage, which is used for a refreshing drink in colds. The 
bark, when reduced to flour, is said to make excellent puddings. 



DENDROLOGY. 313 

VIRGILIA. 

Decandria Monogynia Linn. Leguminosae. Juss. Aperient, emollient. 
Yellow Wood. Virgilia lutea. 

The Yellow Wood is con- 
fined to that part of West 
Tennessee which lies be- 
tween the 35th and the 37th 
degrees of latitude where it is 
commonly designated by the 
name which we have adopted. 
It grows of preference on 
gentle declivities, on a loose, 
deep and fertile soil. 

This tree rai-ely exceeds 
40 feet in height and one 
foot in diameter, and in 
general it does not exceed 
these dimensions. Its trunk 
Fig. I. ApoT^Fig^o. Aieanct. ^^ covercd with a grecnish 

bark, which is smooth instead 
of being furrowed like that of most other trees. The leaves are 
six or eight inches long" on old trees, and of twice this size on 
young and thrifty stocks. They are composed of two rows of 
leaflets, smooth, entire, nearly round and about an inch and a 
half in diameter. The leaflets are three, four or five on each 
side, borne by short petioles, and surmounted by an odd one 
which is supported by the common foot stalk. As in the button 
wood, the lower part of the foot stalk contains the bud, which 
becomes visible in plucking the leaf. The flowers form elegant, 
white, pendulous bunches, a little larger than those of the locust, 
but less odoriferous. The seeds also resemble those of the 
locust, and are contained in pods that differ only in being a little 
narrower. The seeds are ripe about the middle of August. 
40 




PLATE Of. 



314 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



The wood of this tree is fine-grained and soft ; it is principally 
remarkable for the yellow color of the heart, which speedily 
imparts this hue to cold water ; but the color is fugitive even 
when the wood is boiled with alum. The inhabitants of the 
country were very desirous of finding some method of rendering 
it permanent. Aside from the fine vegetation of the yellow 
wood, the brilliant color of its heart appears to be a sufficient 
motive for multiplying it till we become able to appreciate its 
importance in dyeing. 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



PART ni. 



ARBORICULTURE. 

Judicious planting and the skilful culture of plantations 
combine national and private interests in an eminent degree j for, 
besides the real or intrinsic value of the timber or ostensible 
crop, with other produce of woods, available for the arts and 
comforts of life, judicious forest-tree planting improves the general 
climate of the neighborhood, the staple of the soil, as regards the 
gradual accumulation of vegetable matter, afford shelter to live 
stock, promotes the growth of pasture and of corn crops, beautifies 
the landscape, and thus greatly and permanently increases the 
value of the fee simple of the estate and adjoining lands. 

If we turn to those soils emphatically termed wastes — exposed, 
elevated lands, moors, bogs, and sterile sands — composing so 
large a portion of the United States, and naturally clothed by the 
lowest and least valuable products of the vegetable kingdom, the 
inferior grasses, mosses, rushes, sedges, ferns, and heaths — we 
find that upon them the more valuable domestic animals cannot 
exist. If we consider the reason why they are so barren, waste, 
and unproductive, when compared with other lands not more 
favored by nature, and under similar circumstances of latitude 



316 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

and elevation, the cause will, in many instances, be found in the 
want of the shelter and shade of trees, and of the ameliorating 
influence which plantations exercise on ungenial local climates. 
The essential, permanent pasture grasses cannot be established 
on naked exposed situations ; but when assisted by the shelter of 
forest trees they become permanent and productive. Plantations 
supply us with fuel, with materials for fencing, inclosing, building ; 
corn crops, soiling plants, and root crops are obtained in 
succession under their genial protection. Many millions of 
acres now unprofitable to the ownei's and to the community, 
might, by judicious planting, be reclaimed, and rendered highly 
productive ; and it may be safely affirmed, that there is hardly 
a spot of waste land in the Union so barren, which by the 
exercise of skill in planting, and selection of proper species of 
forest trees adapted to the soil and exposure, might not be 
covered with profitable plantations. 

Numerous instances might be cited from different parts of this 
Republic where exposed and sterile lands have, by planting, 
been made capable of producing valuable arable crops and the 
best pasture grasses, and of rearing and fattening stock of improved 
breeds. This, in effect, is adding to the territorial extent of a 
country, to its wealth and strength, by conquest over the natural 
defects of local climate, soil and exposure. 

The subject of planting may, with propriety, be divided into 
three parts: useful or forest-tree planting, ornamental or gardening- 
planting, and orchard or fruit-tree planting. Each of these 
divisions of the subject, from its importance and interest, in a 
national point of view, as well as to individuals, seems to demand 
a distinct treatise. 

The first of these, forest-tree planting, is proposed for the 
subject of the following pages j and the details of the theory and 
practice of the art discussed under the following heads : — 1st of 
earths and soils ; 2d of the different modes of rearing forest trees; 
3d of the soils and sites most profitably employed in the growth 
of timber ; 4th of the most approved modes of preparing different 
soils for the reception of the plants ; and 5th of the culture of 
plantations. 



AKBOKICULTUBE. 317 

CHAP. I. 

Of Earths and Soils. 

Earths are the productions of the rocks which are exposed on 
the surface of the globe, and soils are earths mixed with more 
or less of the decomposed organized matter afforded by dead 
plants and animals. Earths and soils, therefore, must be as 
various as the rocks which produce them, and hence to understand 
their nature and formation it is necessary to begin by considering 
the geological structure of the territorial surface ; next tlie manner 
in which earths and soils are produced ; and lastly we shall 
consider in succession the nomenclature and qualities of soils. 

Of the Geological Structure of the Globe. 

The materials of which the general mass of this earth is 
composed, are variously distributed in different parts. In some 
places they form irregular masses or blocks, either buried below 
the surface, or elevated to a greater or less height above it. In 
most places, however, the materials are arranged in a more 
regular manner; those of the same kind being collected into 
extensive masses, lying in layers or strata, above or below a 
similar mass of another kind, or these alternate with each other 
to a considerable depth. These strata are sometimes found 
arranged in a direction parallel to the horizon ; at others they 
are vertical, or perpendicular to the horizon, appearing as if the 
horizontal strata had been lifted up, and laid upon their edges. 
More commonly the strata are arranged in a direction inclining 
to the horizon, when they are said to dip. 

The uppermost stratum is in most places covered to a certain 
depth with mould that has evidently been formed from the 
decomposition of organized substances. In many parts of the 
earth this mould extends to a very considerable depth, and 



318 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

constitutes the soil ; in other places it is barely sufficient to form 
a coating to the strata, and in others it is entirely wanting. 
Sometimes the strata are continued in a regular arrangement, 
preserving the same inclination to a very considerable extent ; 
but more commonly they appear in some parts separated, as if 
they had been broken asunder. These separations are usually 
in a perpendicular direction, and the cavities are found filled 
with various heterogeneous matters. Sometimes these are chiefly 
composed of fragments of the adjacent strata, but for the most 
part they consist of mineral or metallic substances of a different 
nature. When these fissures are filled with broken fragments 
or rubble, as it is called, it very commonly happens that they 
become the beds of brooks or rivers. When the fissure is filled 
with a solid stony matter, this forms what is called a dyke. 
If a mass of mineral or metallic matters fill the fissure, or be 
insinated between the strata, it forms what is called a vein, and 
these veins Sometimes branch between the strata in various 
directions. When a fracture has taken place in the stratified 
mass, one part of the mass sometimes preserves the same position 
as it had before, or still forms a continued line with the other 
parts of the mass, or is parallel to it ; but more frequently one 
part is thrown out of its original position, and becomes more 
inclined to the horizon than before. Sometimes one side of the 
mass is more depressed than the other ; at others the two parts 
of the mass are so distributed as to incline, towards each other, 
as if they had been broken upwards. When the edges of the 
strata on each side of the fissure are thus divided and disarranged, 
they are said by the miners to trap. If the country in which 
the strata lie runs in a waving direction of hill and dale, the 
strata usually preserves the same waving direction, keeping pretty 
nearly parallel to each other. 

The general observation of all modern geologists proves, that 
all these materials may be distributed under four general classes; 
the first, supposed to be coeval with the world, and are called 
primative, and consist chiefly of granite and marble, below which 
man has not yet penetrated. The second series, called by the 
Wernerians transition rocks, are of more recent formation, and 



ARBORICULTURE. 319 

seem to have resulted from some great catastrophe, (probably 
that to which history gives the name of deluge), tearing up and 
modifying the former order of things. Clay slate is one of the 
principal rocks of this class, and next limestone, sand stone, and 
trap or whin stone. The third series are called secondary rocks, 
and seem to owe their formation to partial or local revolutions, 
as indicated by their comparatively soft and fragile structure, 
superincumbent situation, and nearly horizontal position. They 
are chiefly lime stones, sand stones, and conglomerations of 
fragments of other rocks, as plum-pudding stone, etc., and 
appear rather as mechanical deposits from water than as chemical 
compounds from fusion or solution. A fourth stratum consists 
of alluvial or earthy depositions from water, in the form chiefly 
of immense beds of clays, marls, or sands. These strata are far 
from being regular in any one circumstance ; sometimes one or 
more of the strata are wanting, at other times the order of their 
disposition seems partially inverted ; their continuity of surface 
is continually interrupted, so that a section of the earth almost 
every where exhibits only confusion and disorder to persons who 
have not made geology more or less their study. 



Of the Formation of Earths and Soils, 

The surface earth, or that which forms the outer coating of 
the dry parts of the globe, is formed by the detrious or worn off 
parts of rocks and rocky substances. For in some places, as in 
chasms and vacuities between rocky layers or masses, earth 
occupies many feet in depth, and in others, as on the summit ol 
chalk hills or granite mountains, it hardly covers the surface. 
Earths are, therefore, variously composed, according to the rocks 
or strata which have supplied their particles. Sometimes they 
are chiefly formed from slate rocks, as in blue clays ; at other 
times from sand stone, as in siliceous soils ; and mostly of a 
mixture of claey, slaty and lime stone rocks, blended in proportions 
as various as their situations. Such we may suppose to have 
been the state of the surface of the dry part of the globe 



320 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

immediately after the last disruption of the crust ; but in process 
of time the decay of vegetables and animals form additions to 
the outer surface of the earth, and constitute what are called 
soils ; the difference between which and earths is, that the former 
always contains a portion of vegetable or animal matter. The 
manner in which rocks are converted into soils, Sir H. Davy 
observes, may be easily conceived by referring to the instance 
of soft granite, or porcelain granite. This substance consists of 
three ingredients, quartz, feldspar and mica. The quartz is 
almost pure siliceous earth in a chrystalline form. The feldspar 
and mica are very compounded substances ; both contain silica, 
alumina and oxide of iron ; in the feldspar there is usually lime 
and potassa ; in the mica, lime and magnesia. When a granite 
rock of this kind has been long exposed to the influence of the 
air and water, the lime and the potassa contained in its constituent 
parts are acted upon by water or carbonic acid ; and the oxide . 
of iron, which is almost always in its least oxidized state, tends 
to combine with more oxygen ; the consequence is, that the 
feldspar decomposes, and likewise the mica ; but the first the 
most rapidly. The feldspar, which is as it were the cement of 
the stone, forms a fine clay : the mica partially decomposed 
mixes with it as sand ; and the undecomposed quartz appears as 
gravel, or sand of different degrees of fineness. As soon as the 
smallest layer of earth is formed on the surface of a rock, the 
seeds of lichens, mosses and other vegetables of the kind which 
are constantly floating in the atmosphere, and which have made 
it their resting place begin to vegetate ; their death, decomposition 
and decay afford a certain quantity of organizable matter, which 
mixes with the earthy materials of the rock ; in this improved 
soil more perfect plants are capable of subsisting ; these in their 
turn absorb nourishment by the agency of water and the 
atmosphere ; and after perishing, afford new materials to those 
already provided : the decomposition of the rock still continues j 
and at length, by such slow and gradual processes, a soil is 
formed in which even forest trees can fix their roots, and which 
is fitted to reward the labors of the cultivator. 



ARBORICULTURE. 391 

The formation of peaty soils is produced from very opposite 
causes, and it is interesting to contemplate how the same effect 
may be produced by different causes, and the earth which 
supplies almost all our wants may become barren alike from the 
excessive application of art, or the utter neglect of it. Continual 
pulverization and cropping, without manuring, will certainly 
produce a hungry, barren soil ; and the total neglect of fertile 
tracts will, from their accumulated vegetable products, produce 
peaty soils, and bogs. Where successive generations of vegetables 
have grown upon a soil. Sir H. Davy observes, unless part of 
their produce has been carried off by man, or consumed by 
animals, the vegetable matter increases in such proportion, that 
the soil approaches to a peat in its nature ; and if in a situation 
where it can receive water from a higher district, it becomes 
spongy, and permeated with that fluid, and is gradually rendered 
incapable of supporting the nobler classes of vegetables. Many 
peat mosses seem to have been formed by the destruction of 
forests, in consequence of the imprudent use of the hatchet by 
the early cultivators of the country in which they exist : when 
the trees are felled in the outskirts of a wood, those in the 
interior are exposed to the influence of the winds ; having been 
exposed or accustomed to shelter, they become unhealthy, and 
die in their situation ; and their leaves and branches gradually 
decomposing, produce a stratum of vegetable matter. 

Lakes and pools of water are sometimes filled up by the 
accumulation of the remains of aquatic plants; and in this case 
a spurious peat is formed. The fermentation in these cases, 
however, seems to be of a different kind. Much more gaseous 
matter is evolved ; and the neighborhood of morasses, in which 
aquatic vegetables decompose, is generally aguish and unhealthy; 
while that of the true peat, or peat formed on soils originally dry, 
is always salubrious. 

Soils may generally be distinguished from mere masses of 

earth by their friable texture, dark color, and by the presence of 

some vegetable fibre or carbonaceous matter. In uncultivated 

grounds, soils occupy only a few inches in depth on the surface, 

41 



322 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

unless in crevices, where they have been washed in by rains ; 
and in cultivated soils their depth is generally the same as that 
to which the implements used in cultivation have penetrated. 



Classification and Nomenclature of Soils. 

Systematic order and an agreed nomenclature are as necessary 
in the study of soils as of plants or animals. The number of 
provincial terms for soils which have found their way into the 
books on cultivation, is one reason why so Httle use can be made 
of their directions. A correct classification of soils may be 
founded on the presence or absence of organic or inorganic 
matter in their basis. This will form two grand classes, viz. 
primitive soils, or those composed entirely of inorganic matter, 
and secondary soils, or those composed of organic and inorganic 
matter in mixtures. These classes may be subdivided into 
orders founded on the presence or absence of saline, metallic 
and carbonic matter. The orders may be subdivided into genera 
founded on the prevailing earths, salts, metals, or carbon ^ the 
genera into species founded on their different mixtures ; the 
species into varieties founded on color, texture j and sub-varieties 
foimded on moisture, dryness, i-ichness, lightness, etc. 

In naming the genera of soils, the first thing is to discover the 
prevailing earth or earths ; either the simple earths as clay, lime, 
sand, or the particular rocks from which the soil has been 
produced, as granite, basalt, etc. When one earth prevails, the 
generic name should be taken from that earth, as clayey soil, 
calcareous soil, etc. ; when two prevail to all appearance equally, 
then their names must be conjoined in naming the genus, as clay 
and sand, lime and clay, basalt and sand, etc. The great thing 
is precision in applying the terms. Thus as Sir H. Davy has 
observed, the term sandy soil should never be applied to any soil 
that does not contain at least seven-eighths of sand ; sandy soils 
that effervesce with acids should be distinguished by the name 
of calcareous sandy soil, to distinguish them from those that are 
siliceous. The term clayey soil should not be applied to any 



ARBORICULTURE. 323 

land which contains less than one sixth of impalpable earthy 
matter, not without considerably effervescing with acids ; the 
word loam should be limited to soils, containing at least one third 
of impalpable earthy matter, copiously effervescing with acids. 
A soil to be considered as peaty, ought to contain at least 
one half of vegetable matter. In cases where the earthy part of 
a soil evidently consists of the decomposed matter of one 
particular rock, a name derived from the rock may with propriety 
be applied to it. Thus, if a fine red earth be found immediately 
above decomposing basalt, it may be denominated basaltic soil. 
If fragments of quartz and mict"i be found abundant in the 
materials of the soil, which is often the case, it may be 
denominated granitic soil ; and the same principles may be 
applied to other like instances. In general, the soils, the 
materials of which are the most various and heterogeneous, are 
those called alluvial, or which have been formed from the 
depositions of rivers ; and these deposits may be designated as 
siliceous, calcareous, or argillaceous ; and in some cases the term 
saline may be added as a specific distinction, applicable, for 
example, at the mouth of rivers, where their alluvial remains are 
overflown by the sea. 

The following table enumerates the more common genera, 
species and varieties of soil. The application of the terms will 
be understood by every cultivator, though to attempt to describe 
the soils either chemically or empirically, (as by sight, smell or 
touch), would be a useless waste of time. From a very little 
experience in the field or garden, more may be gained in the 
study of soils, than from a volume of such descriptions. This 
table corresponds with the nomenclature adopted in the agricultural 
establishments of Fellenberg at Hofwyl in Switzerland, of 
Professor Thaer at Moegelin in Prussia, of Professor Thouin in 
his lectures at Paris, and in general with that of all the European 
professors. It is therefore very desirable that it should become 
as generally adopted as that of the Linnaean system in botany. 
The principle of the table may be extended so as to contain any 
other soil whatever. 



324 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



TABLE. 



Class. Order. Ocnus. Species. 



'Clay 



Variety. 



t < 



Earths and 



' Clay 



'Clay 



I. Sand 



fciay 



( Fcnugii 
< Cupreou 
f Saline 



Cupreous 
; Saline 
k Ferrugineous 
^ Cupreoua 
\. Saline 
' Loamy 

Peaty 

Mouldy 

Limy 
-Sandy 
'Clayey 

Loamy 

Sandy 

Peaty 
-Mouldy 
'Clayey 



my 



I. Coal 



Peaty 
, Mouldy 

'Perru^ineous, loamy, &c. 
Ferru^ineous, limy, &c. 
Ferru^noous, sandy, &c. 
Fcri'ugineous, peaty, &i;, 
Ferrugineou=, monldy, &c. 
Cupreous, loamy, &c. 
Salme, loamy, &c. 
LCinereous, loamy, &c. 
"Ferruginemis, loamy, &c, 
Ferrugineous, sandy, &c. 
Cupreous, loamy, &c. 
, Cupreous, sandv, &c. 
Saline, loamy, '&c. 
Saline, sandy, &c. 
Cinereous, loamy, &c. 
l-Cinereous, limy, &c. 
'Ferrugineous, loamy, &c. 
Ferrugineous, limy, &c. 
Cupreous, loamy, '&c. 
Cupreous, limy, &c. 
Safine, loamy, &c. 
Saline, limy, &c. 
Cinereous, loarny, &o. 
(.Cinereous, limy, &c. 
' Ferrugineous, &c, 

(iuartzose, &c. 
; Ferrug-ineous, &c. 
Columnar, &c. 
Wliin stone, &c. 
Ferriigineoua, &G, 
Micaceous, &c. 
Chlorite, &c. 
'Ferru^ineous, &c. 
Calcareous, &c. 
Argillaceous, &c. 
^Cupreous, &c. 
-Chalky, &c. 
Marljie, &c« 
Shelly, &c. 
Magnesian, &o. 
Sulphuric, &c. 
Perrugineous, &c. 
Cupreous, &c. 
Argillaceous, &%. 
-Siliceous, &c. 
'Slaty, &c. 
Pyritic, &0. 
Stony, &c. 
Woody, &c. 



Red 
Yellow 
Cnarso 
LFine 
Black, red, yellow, coarse, fine, &c. 
Black, red, yellow, coarse, fine, &c. 
Black, reii, yellow, coarse, fine, &c. 
Black, red, &c. 
Black, red, &c. 
Black, red 
Black, red 

Black, red, yellow, coarse, fine, &c. 
Black, red, yellow, coarse, fine, &c< 
Black 
Black 

Black, red, yellow, &c. 
Black, red, yellow, &c. 
Black 
Black 
Black 

Black, rctl, yellow, &c. 
Black 
Black 
Black 
Black 
Black 
Black 
Black 
Black 
Black 
Black ■ 
Black 
Black 
Black 
Black 
Black 
Black 
Black 
Black 
Black 
Black 
Black 

Black 

Black 

Black 

Black 

Black 

Black 

Black 

Black 

Black 

Black 

Black 

Black 

Black, red, yellow, &a. 

Black 

Black, red, yellow, &C. 

Black 

Black 

Black, red, yellow, &c. 

Black 

Black 

Black, &c. 

Black 

Black 

Black 

Black, red, &c. 

Black 

Black 

Black 

Black 

Black 

Black 

Black 

Black 

Black, red, yellow, &c. 

Black 

Black 

Slack 



Suh-Variely. 

Moist. 

Dry. 

Rich. 

Poor. 

.Sterile. 

Moist, dry, &c. 

Moist, dry, &c. 

Moist, dry, &c. 

Moisl, dry, &c. 

Moist, dry, rich, &e. 

Moist, dry, &c. 

Moist, dry, &c. 

Moist, dry, &c. 

Moist, dry, &c. 

Moist, dry, &c. 

Moist, dry, &c. 

Moist, dry, rich, &c. 

Moisl, dry, rich, &c. 

Moist. 

Moist, dry, &c. 

Moist, dry, &c. 

Moist. 

Moist. 

Moist. 

Moist. 

Moist, dry. 

Moist. 

Moist. 

Moist, 

Moist. 

Moist. 

Moist. 

Moist. 

Moist. 

Moist. 

Moist. 

Moist. 

Moist. 

Moist. 

Moist. 

Moist. 

Moisl. 

Moist. 

Moist. 

Moist. 

Moist. 

Moist. 

Moist. 

Moist. 

Moist. 

Moist. 

Moist. 

Moist. 

Moist. 

Moist. 

Moist. 

Moist. 

Moist. 

Moist. 

Moist, dry, &o. 

Moist. 

Moist, dry, &c. 

Moist. 

Moist. 

Moist, &c. 

Moist. 

Moist. 

Moisl, &c. 

Moist. 

Moist. 

Moist. 

Moisl, dry, &o. 

Moist. 

Moist. 

Moist. 

Moist. 

Moist. 

Moist. 

Moist. 

Moist. 

Moisl, dry, rich, ftc. 

Moist. 

Moist. 

Moiit. 



AKBORICULTURE. 325 



Of Discovering the Qualities of Soils. 

The value of soils to the cultivator, is discoverable, botanically, 
chemically and mechanically ; that is, by the plants, that grow 
on them naturally ; by chemical analysis ; and by exterior and 
interior inspection or handling. 



Of Discovering the Quality of Soils Botanically. 

Plants are the most certain indicators of the nature of a soil ; 
for while no practical cultivator would engage with land of which 
he knew only the results of a chemical analysis, or examined by 
the sight and touch a few bushels which were brought to him, 
yet every gardener or farmer, who knew the sorts of plants it 
produced, would be at once able to decide as to its value for culti- 
vation. For example, the garget and striped maple are generally 
found on a warm, loamy soil ; the rush on a clayey soil ; the 
mullein and sorrel on a dry, sandy soil ; and the cranberry on a 
peaty soil. But these plants, however, are not to be absolutely 
depended upon, as they are sometimes found in soils directly 
opposite ; as climate and natural irrigation of plants have much 
more influence on these plants than mere soils. 



Of Discovering the Qualities of Soils by 
Chemical Analysis. 

Chemical analysis is much too nice an operation for general 
purposes. It is not likely that many practical cultivators will 
ever be able to conduct the analytic process with sufficient 
accuracy, to enable them to depend on the result. But still such 
a knowledge of chemistry as shall enable the cultivator to 
understand the nature of the process and its results, when made 
and presented to him by others, is calculated to be highly useful, 
and ought to be acquired by every man whose object is to join 
theoretical to practical knowledge. If it so happens that he can 



326 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

perform the operations of analysis himself, so much the better, as 
far as that point is concerned ; but on the whole, such knowledge 
and adroitness is not to be expected from men who have so 
many other points demanding their attention, and who will, 
therefore, effect their purpose much better by collecting proper 
specimens of the soils to be studied, and sending them for analysis 
to a respectable operative chemist. 

In selecting specimens, where the general nature of the soil of 
a field is to be ascertained, portions of it should be taken from 
different places, two or three inches below the surface, and 
examined as to the similarity of their properties. It sometimes 
happens, that upon plains, the whole of the upper stratum of the 
land is of the same kind, and in this case, one analysis will be 
sufficient : but in valleys, and near the beds of rivers, there are 
very great differences, and it now and then occurs that one part 
of a field is calcareous, and another part siliceous ', and in this 
case, and in analogous cases, the portions different from each 
other should be separately submitted to experiment. Soils, when 
collected, if they cannot be immediately examined, should be 
preserved in phials quite filled with them, and closed with ground- 
glass stoppers. The quantity of soil most convenient for a perfect 
analysis is from two to four hundred grains. It should be 
collected in dry weather, and exposed to the atmosphere till it 
becomes dry to the touch. 

The soil best suited for culture, according to the analysis of 
Bergman, contains four parts of clay, three of sand, two of 
calcareous earth, and one of magnesia : and, according to the 
analysis of Fourcroy and Hassenfratz, 9216 parts of fertile soil 
contained 305 parts of carbon, together with 279 parts of oil ; 
of which, according to the calculations of Lavoisier, 220 parts 
may be regarded as carbon : so that the whole of the carbon 
contained in the soil in question may be estimated at about 525 
parts exclusive of the roots of vegetables, or to about one sixteenth 
of its weight. Young observed that equal weights of different 
soils, when dried and reduced to powder, yielded by distillation 
quantities of air somewhat corresponding to the ratios of their 
values. The air was a mixture of fixed and inflammable gasses, 



ARBORICULTURE. 327 

proceeding probably from decomposition of the water ; but, 

partly, it may be presumed, from its capacity of abstracting a 

portion of air from the atmosphere, which the soil at least is 

capable of doing. The following is the analysis of a fertile soil, 

as occurring in the neighborhood of Bristol, England. In 400 

grains, there were of water, 52; siliceous sand, 240; vegetable 

fibre, 5 ; vegetable extract, 3; alumine, 48 ; magnesia, 2 ; oxide 

of iron, 14 ; calcareous earth, 30 ; loss, 6. But Kirwan has 

shown in his Geological Essays, that the fertility of a soil depends 

in a great measure upon hs capacity for retaining water ; and if 

so, soils containing the same ingredients must be also equally 

fertile, all other circumstances being the samei ; though it is plain 

that their actual fertility will depend ultimately upon the quantity 

of rain that falls, because the quantity suited to a wet soil cannot 

be the same that is suited to a dry one. And hence it often 

happens that the ingredients of the soil do not correspond to the 

character of the climate. Silica exists in the soil under the 

modincation of sand, and alumine under the modification of clay. 

But the one or the other is often to be met with in excess or 

defect. Soils in which the sand preponderates retain the least 

moisture ; and soils in which the clay preponderates retain the 

most ; the former are dry soils, the latter are wet ones. But it 

may happen that neither of them is sufiiciently favorable to culture • 

in which case, their peculiar defect or excess must be supplied 

or retrenched before they can be brought to a state of fertility. 

In the present state of chemical science, Dr. Ure observes no 
certain system can be devised for the improvement of lands 
independently of experiment; but there are few cases in which 
the labor of analytical trials will not be amply repaid by the 
certainty with which they denote the best methods of mehoration • 
and this will particularly happen, when the defect of composition 
is found in the proportions of the primitive earths. In supplying 
organic matter, a temporary food only is provided for plants, 
which is in all cases exhausted by means of a certain number of 
crops ; but when a soil is rendered of the best possible constitution 
and texture, with regard to its earthy parts, its fertility may be 
considered as permanently established. It becomes capable of 



328 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

attracting a very large portion of vegetable nourishment from the 
atmosphere, and of producing its crops with comparatively little 
labor and expense. 

Of Discovering the Qualities of a Soil Mechanically 
AND Empirically. 

The physical properties of soils and some of their most 
important constituents relatively to the cultivator, may be 
ascertained to a certain extent by various and very simple means. 

The specific gravity of a soil, or the relation of its weight to 
that of water, may be ascertained by introducing into a phial, 
which will contain a known quantity of water, equal volumes of 
water and of soil, and this may be easily done by pouring in 
water till it is half full, and then adding the soil till the fluid rises 
to the mouth ; the difference between the weight of the soil and 
that of the water, will give the result. Thus if the bottle contains 
400 grains of water, and gains 200 grains when half filled with 
water and half with soil, the specific gravity of the soil will be 2, 
that is, it will be twice as heavy as water, and if it gained 165 
grains, its specific gravity would be 1825, water being 1000. 

The presence of clay and sand in any soil may be known two 
ways ; the first by its tenacity, the other by its roughness to the 
touch, and by scratching glass when rubbed on it. 

The presence of calcareous matter in soil may be ascertained 
by simply pouring any acid on it, and observing if it effervesces 
freely. Calcareous soils are also softer to the touch than any 
other. 

The presence of organized matter in any soil may be ascertained 
very satisfactorily by weighing it after being thoroughly dried j 
then subjecting it to a red heat, and weighing it again, the weight 
last found will be the proportion of organic matter. The same 
object may also be obtained by ascertaining the specific gravity 
of the soil, but with less accuracy. 

The presence of metallic oxides in a soil may generally be 
known by their color. Ferrugineous soils, are red or yellow ; 
cupreous soils, interspersed with greenish streaks, etc. 




ARBORICULTURE. 339 

The presence of salts, sulphur, coal, etc. may be known by 
the absence or peculiarity of vegetation, as well as by color, and 
the appearance of the water of such soils. 

The capacity of a soil for retaining water may 
be thus ascertained. An equal portion of two 
soils, perfectly dry, may be introduced into 
two bell-glass, cyhndrical vessels, (Plate 102) 
PLATE cii. in the middle of each of which a glass tube 

is previously placed. The soil should be put into each in the 
same manner, not compressed very hard, but so as to receive a 
solidity approaching to that which they possessed when first 
obtained for trial. If, after this preparation, a quantity of water 
be poured into the glass tubes, it will subside ; and the capillary 
attraction of the soils will conduct it u^j the cylinders towards the ^ 
tops of the vessels. That which conducts it the most rapidly, 
provided it does not rise from the weight of the incumbent 
column of water in the tube, may be pronounced to be the 
better soil. 



CHAP II. 

Of the Different Modes op Rearing Forest Trees. 

It has been strongly controverted by some, whether it is better 
to raise trees for timber and like purposes, from their seeds and 
first rudiments, or to transplant such as we find have either raised 
themselves from their seeds, or sprung from their mother roots, 
or by grafting or innoculation. Now that to produce them 
immediately from the seed we contend is the better way, the 
following reasons may seem to evince. First, because they 
vegetate the soonest ; secondly, because they produce the 
straightest and most uniform shoots ; thirdly, because they will 
neither require staking nor watering, which are two very 
considerable articles; fourthly, because that transplanting in 
42 



330 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

general, unless they are taken up th» first year or two, is a 
considerable impediment to the growth of forest trees : although 
it be true that many of those which are found in woods, especially 
young oaks, beeches and many others, spring from the self-sown 
seeds ; yet being for the most part dropped and disseminated 
among the half-rotten sticks, musty leaves and perplexities of the 
mother roots, they grow scraggy, and being overpowered, become 
squallid and are liable to accumulate moss. Nor can their roots 
expand, and spread themselves as they would do, if they were 
sown, or had been planted in a more open, free and ingenuous 
soil. On the truth of this, experience affirms, that an acorn, 
sown by the hand in a nursery, or ground where it may be free 
from these obstructions, shall in two or three years outstrip a 
plant of twice that age, which has either been self-sown in the 
woods, or removed, unless by some favorable accident, it had 
been scattered into a more natural, penetrable and better qualified 
place ; but this disproportion is yet infinitely more remarkable in 
the pine and in the walnut, where the seed set into the ground, 
usually overtakes a tree of ten years' growth v^^hich was planted 
at the same instant. And, lastly, for that grafting and innoculation, 
unless performed with the utmost skill, most frequently defeat 
the design of the cultivator ; besides, if they are well set they 
are liable to accidents from high winds, extreme cold, the 
depradations of animals and numerous other causes. 



Of the Seminary. 

From the foregoing observations we may infer that the most 
natural, direct and general way of raising trees and plants, is 
from seeds. In order to this, proper soils must be prepared for 
them, as suitable as possible to their respective natures j and 
when the ground is ready, and well furnished with the embryo 
plants, it is properly and significantly called the Seminary. Its 
situation should be as near the nursery as possible ; and as it is 
of the utmost consequence to preserve the young plants from the 
range of animals, the ground should be fenced round with poles 



ARBORICULTURE. . 331 

of a sufficient heiglit. Late in autumn let the land be trenched 
from a foot and a half to two feet deep, working the sward to the 
bottom ; and during the following spring, the surface should be 
carefully kept clear from weeds. About mid-summer, unless the 
soil be very rich, let a coat of manure be spread over the surface, 
after which it should again be trenched. By this second 
operation the rotten sward will be brought to the top, and the 
soil will wear a mellow appearance. From mid-summer to 
September, the ground should be kept clear from weeds ; and 
just before the seeds are committed to it, it should again be 
trenched, which will effectually produce an uniform mixture of 
all the parts. This being done let the ground be levelled, and 
the beds laid out for the different purposes, reserving proper 
portions for the reception of such seeds as must be sown in 
spring. 

A very judicious planter recommends the following method of 
making a seminary. Trench the ground in November eighteen 
inches deep, if the soil will admit of it ; but where the staple is 
too thin, one foot will be sufficient, in which case the sward must 
be pared off very thin, and placed in the bottom of the trench. 
The following year let this land be cuhivated with a crop of 
cabbages, turnips or rape, which must be eaten off by sheep. 
After this a common digging will be sufficient, previous to its 
being formed into beds for the reception of the seeds. It will 
be necessary to remark upon this mode of preparation, that the 
urine of sheep is considered as one of the most cherishing 
manures for all plants raised in a seminary. This mode of 
procedure will answer for most kinds of trees. Those which 
require a moister or cooler situation, may be cultivated with 
equal success by shading and irrigation. No greater error exists 
in the planter's art, than the doctrine that trees should be raised 
on the same quality of soil as that to which they are to be trans- 
planted, as if a robust, healthy plant were less likely to withstand its 
subsequent casualties of situation, soil and local climate, than a 
weaker plant with contracted sap vessels, the invariable conse- 
quence of a poor seed-bed soil. 

Experience fully confirms that principle of vegetable physiology 



3'32 . SYLVA AMERICANA. 

which teaches that rohust, heahhy plants, whether in the seedhng 
stage of growth or of a larger size, succeed better than those of 
stinted growlh, even when transplanted to the least favorable soil 
and exposure. 

Where the land to be planted with forest trees is an extensive 
tract and remotely situated, and where the seeds of the several 
kinds can be procured genuine, of good quality, and at a small 
cost, the formation of a private seminary may be advisable ; but 
where the plants can be procured from a reasonable distance, it 
will be found the most economical and effective to purchase them, 
and even in the former case one or two years' seedling should be 
procured in place of seeds, as a saving of time and expense. 

The seminary being now ready, it follows that the planter 

^should be instructed in the manner of sowing and raising the 

seeds of forest trees. The following directions upon this subject 

are either drawn from experience, or are transcribed from the 

best authorities. 



Of the Seeds of Forest Trees. 

The seeds of forest trees may be classed under the following 
heads, or general characters, indicating peculiar points to be 
observed in the practice of sowing them. 

1st. Seeds farinaceous, and covered loith shells, nut seeds. To 
this class belong the oak, chesnut, beech, horse chesnut, walnut, 
hazel, hornbeam, plane, sycamore, maple and ash, to which may 
be added, though not strictly belonging to the group, the birch, 
alder and lime. The first seven kinds, from the farina they 
contain, are least adapted for keeping out of the soil, and the 
same cause renders them mor'e difficult to preserve in the soil 
when sown, by inducing the attacks of mice, birds, and other 
vermin. The spring is considered the best season for sowing, 
and the seeds must therefore be preserved carefully during the 
winter ; the most approved mode is to spread them out in their 
layers on a cool, dry floor, but previously to this they should be 
thoroughly dried by the sun and air. The smaller kinds of seeds 
after being sufficiently dried, may be kept in a smaller space. 



ARBORICULTURE. 333 

When sown, these seeds require different degrees of covering in 
the soil. The larger seeds, as those of the chesnut, oak, etc., 
should be covered with two inches of mould ; for the smaller 
seeds of the plane, sycamore, hornbeam, maple and ash, it will 
be proper to mix with them sand, in quantity about equal to their 
bulk, placing the mixture on the ground a foot in thickness, and 
covering that with an inch thick of mould. The birch may be 
sown immediately as it is taken from the tree, or preserved in 
the seed loft until spring. When sown, the birch is generally 
covered half an inch with mould, the former seeds with one inch. 

2d. Hard seeds, or stones covered with a pulpy fruit. The 
proper covering of these seeds is so hard, as to have acquired 
for them the name of stones. In this class are the persimon, 
June berry, tupelo, cherry, mountain ash, holly, pear, crab and 
thorn. To obviate the irregular vegetation of these seeds, which 
is attended with loss of time and inconvenience, the practice of 
preparing them for sowing by what is called pitting has been 
adopted ; but as one, two, or even three years in the pit or 
preparatory bed are wanted for some of these seeds, it is requisite 
after they have lain a certain time in the pit to uncover them and 
turn them over, so as to assist in the separation of the pulp from 
the stones. 

3d. Leguminous, or bean seeds. These, as regards forest 
trees are confined to the common acacia, or locust tree, (Rohinia 
pseud acacia), and the glutinous robinia (Rohinia viscosa). 
These seeds vegetate freely when sown from the tree, but it is 
the general practice to preserve them until spring in a dry, cool 
place. When sown, they require to be covered with about three 
fourths of an inch of mould. If sown too thickly, that is,^less 
than one inch seed from seed, the plants soon injure one another 
and become diseased. 

4th. Light seeds. Under this head we enumerate the poplar 
and the tree willows. These seeds being light, and separating 
freely from the tree when ripe, require care in collecting, as other- 
wise they are liable to be dispersed and carried away by the wind. 
They vegetate quickly and may be sown as soon as they are ripe. 
Spring, however, is preferred, as tender seedling plants are subject 



334 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

to injury from severe weather in winter. They should be 
covered to the depth of one fourth of an inch of fine, sifted 
mould. 

5th. Resinous seeds are those of coniferous or fir trees. Their 
vegetative power when cleaned or separated from the cones, is 
not to be preserved if they are kept out of the ground for any 
considerable length of time, and they require particular care in 
sowing. The soil of the beds ought to be of a light sandy 
nature, enriched with the vegetable mould of decayed tree leaves, 
or well-decomposed dung. If a proper quantity of the former 
manure be added, and well incorporated with the sandy loam 
above described, it will bring that soil to a suitable texture. 
The seeds are borne in cones furnished with scales of a hard 
woody consistence. The cones of the larch with much difficulty 
part from the seeds, and various means have been adopted to 
effect that object. The best is that of first opening the cone, or 
dividing it lengthways into two or four parts, then placing them 
on a kiln and drying by a very gentle heat until the valves begin 
to open, when they should be taken to a proper floor and 
threshed : the seeds may then be separated by a sieve. The 
cones of the spruces require also the aid of the kiln ; but the 
seeds part from the cones easily, and the splhting of the cones 
is superfluous. The spring is the best season for sowing these 
seeds. The soil of the seedling beds should be in as finely a 
pulverized state as possible for their reception. 



Of Sowing the Seeds. 

The trees belonging to the following genera are the most 
suitable for cultivation by seeds. 

Ahies, All the trees of this genus affect moist, siliceous, sandy 
soils, but they will flourish on rocky, and comparatively barren 
soils, for which they are peculiarly adapted. The seeds should 
not be taken out of the cones till the time of sowing arrives, 
which is in March or April. 



ARBOMCULTUBE. 335 

Acer. This genus requires a deep, rich, moist soil free from 
stagnant water : some species will thrive in a dryer soil. The 
seeds should be sown as soon as possible after they are ripe. 
Some are of opinion that they should be preserved in dry sand 
until March or April. 

Alnus. This genus requires a moist, damp soil. The seeds 
should be sown in autumn or spring : if left until spring, they 
should be preserved in dry sand. 

Andromeda. The seeds of this genus should be sown as soon 
as ripe in a sandy peat. 

Betida. This genus will grow in every description of soil, 
from the wettest to the driest. The seed may be sown in 
autumn or spring ; to be kept in a dry, cool sand, from the time 
it is ripe until it is sown. 

Carpinus. Poor clayey loams, incumbent on sand and 
chalky gravels, are well adapted for the growth of this genus. 
The seed should be sown in autumn. 

Castanea. A rich sandy loam raises the chesnut to the 
greatest perfection as a timber tree ; but it appears to come to 
great maturity in clayey soils, if free from stagnant moisture. It 
will thrive also in gravel or sand, if not in too bleak or exposed 
a situation. The seeds should be planted in March or April. 

Chamcerops. This genus^ requires a warm, rich garden mould. 
The seeds should be sown at their maturity. 

Cupressus. This genus delights most in a sandy loam, but it 
will also thrive and grow to a considerable height in clayey soils. 
The seed should be sown in the spring, in a warm situation, or 
in pots, in dry, light earth : to be kept in the cones until the 
period of sowing. 

Ifiospyros. The seeds of this genus should be sown at their' 
maturity in a sandy loam. 

Gleditschia. This genus requires a sandy loam : its seeds 
should be sown as soon as they are matured : they frequently 
remain in the earth two years before they vegetate. 

Juglans. This genus requires a rich, loamy soil to bring it to 
perfection ; but it will succeed in very light, siliceous, sandy 
soils, as well as clayey ones. The nuts should be preserved 



336 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

until March or April in their husk, after which they may be 
sown. 

Larix. This genus requires a moist, cool loam in a shaded 
situation. The seeds may be sown in November, or kept in 
the cones until March or April and then be sown. 

Laurus. This genus requires a soil composed of sand, peat 
and loam. The seeds should be sown at the period of their 
maturity. 

Liquidamhar. This genus will flourish best in a sandy loam, 
but will thrive in most kinds of soils of an intermediate quality 
between moisture and dryness. The seeds should be sown in 
the spring in pots or boxes of light earth 5 to be shaded during 
the summer, and protected from severe frosts in the winter, may 
be propagated also by layers. 

Lyriodendron. The seeds of this genus should be sown at 
their maturity in a sandy loam. 

JMagnolia. The seeds of this genus should be sown, as soon 
as ripe, in pots or boxes filled whh a mixture of loam and peat, 
and plunge them into an old hot bed of tanner's bark : they may 
also be propagated by layers. 

Olea. The seeds of this tree should be sown as soon as they 
have matured in a sandy peat. 

Pinus. All the fir and pine tribes affect siliceous, sandy soils, 
but they will flourish on rocky and comparatively barren ones, 
for which they are peculiarly adapted. The seeds should be 
sown in March or April, and should not be taken out of the cones 
until the time of sowing arrives. 

Platanus. This genus prefers moist loam, but free from 
stagnant moisture. The seeds should be sown immediately after 
they are ripe. 

Qiiercus. A rich loam, with a clayey sub-soil, brings the oak 
to the greatest perfection ; but it may be profitably cultivated on 
almost every description of soil, except boggy or peat. They 
should be sown in November ; or if deferred till spring, lay them 
upon a cool, dry floor, to prevent their vegetating. 

Robinia. This genus will grow in almost any soil, but attains 



ARBORICULTURE. 337 

to most perfection in such as is light and sandy. The seeds 
should be sown in March or April, on a bed of light earth. 

Tilia. This genus will flourish in almost any kind of soil, if 
moderately damp. The seeds should be sown in autumn, in a 
shady border of moist, light soil j but the usual mode of 
propagation is by layers. 

Of the Nursery and Plantation. 

The following are essential points to be considered in establishing 
an effective nursery : fencing, shelter, aspect, soil and management. 
The fence of a forest-tree nursery requires to be rahhit proof, or 
loss and disappointment are almost certain to follow. A foundation 
of brick work should be made for a superstructure of close paling. 
Where shelter is not an object, a very cheap and excellent 
substitute is found in iron wire netting, which is manufactured for 
the general purposes of fences to young plants. Shelter is 
indispensable to the free growth of seedling plants, the injurious 
consequences resulting from sudden checks, as also the bad 
effects of confined air to the health and prosperity of trees in 
every stage of growth ; and therefore, at the same time that a 
full protection against cold, bleak winds and unfavorable aspects 
is necessary, a full and free circulation of atmospheric air must 
be secured, to allow of a well-grounded hope of success. 

The soil of the nursery must be of an intermediate quality as 
to moisture and dryness, not less than eighteen inches deep to 
the subsoil, and under a south, east or west exposure, or 
intermediate points of these. The varieties of soil required for 
particular kinds of trees will have to be supplied where the 
natural soil is deficient. 

Management. This head comprehends an ample degree of 
practical skill in the superintendant and workmen j the erection 
of proper sheds, the means of carriage for composts, soils, plants, 
etc., immediately when needed. A quantity of compost and 
different soils should always be in readiness when wanted for the 
seedling beds, layer stools, and cutting beds, and a proper 
assortment of nursery garden tools, which shall be specified 
43 ■ 



338 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

hereafter. The preparation of the soil, the mode of sowing, and 
the different kinds of forest-tree seeds, have akeady been 
described. All kinds of forest trees, however, are not raised 
from seeds, either because they do not perfect a sufficient quantity 
for the general purposes of propagation, or are accidental varieties 
only of a species losing their characters of distinction when 
reproduced from seed. The following modes of propagation are 
found effectual when seeds cannot be obtained : first, by suckers^ 
second, by layers, third, by cuttings, and fourth, by grafting. 

1st. Suckers are shoots produced by the creeping roots of a 
tree, which, when separated from the parent root and transplanted, 
become perfect trees. They are generally sufficiently rooted in 
the first season of their production, and they should not be 
suffered to remain longer than two seasons attached to the root 
of the tree ; for if continued longer, the support they derive from 
the parent root prevents them from making independent roots of 
their own in such abundance as they do when separated or taken 
up at an earlier period. The spring is the most proper season 
for taking them from the parent roots. When a sufficient number 
of rootlets appear on the sucker, no part of the root from whence 
the sucker sprang should be left attached to it ; but where the 
proper rootlets are deficient in number, a small portion of the 
parent root may be left with advantage. The plants should be 
planted in rows in fresh soil, and treated in all respects afterwards 
as directed for seedling transplanted trees. The kinds of trees 
chiefly reared in England in this mode are : 

Ailanthug glandulosa, . . Chinese Jjilanthus. 

Populus alba, . , . Mcle Tree. 

Populus canescens, . . . Common White Poplar. 

Populus tremula, . . . Aspen, 

The first three kinds may also be propagated by layers. 

2d. Layers. The process of layering is well known : it 
consists in bending a young branch (Plate 103) into the soil to a 
certain depth, and elevating the top part of it out of the soil in 
an upright direction ; in time the buried part takes root, and the 
shoot becomes a perfect plant. The root which produces the 
young shoots for layering is called the stool. Stools are planted 



ARBORICULTURE. 



339 




PLATE cm. 



about six feet apart every way in a deep, fresh soil. The stem 
at first is either bent down into the ground as a layer, or cut over 
a few inches from the root. The shoots which are produced 

from its sides form the layers 
(c?). The rooting of the 
layers is much facilitated by 
obstructing in part the de- 
scending sap ; this is essential 
to some kinds of layers, though 
not to all : the common laurel, 
privet, etc., strike root readily without any artificial stoppage of 
the descending sap. The most expeditious mode of effecting 
this, is to cut a notch, slanting upwards to the origin of the layer, 
about half a diameter in length (/), and securing the position of 
the layer in the ground by a wooden peg (g). Where the shoot 
is of a nature that roots with difficulty, it is useful to split the 
tongue of the notch half way up, and to insert a small wedge of 
potsherd or wood to keep the division open. Rings of wire are 
also sometimes used for the same purpose, and cutting the bark 
round the part to within a little of the complete circumference of 
ihe shoot. In all ordinary cases, however, the slit or notching 
mode is perfectly effective. The ground should be kept quite 
clean of weeds, and watered in dry weather. When sufficiently 
rooted, the layers should be carefully cut away from the shoots 
with all the fibrous roots attached to them, and planted in rows 
in fresh, well-prepared soil. The stools should have all the 
stumps of the branches cut away, and left to produce a fresh 
series of shoots for next autumn's layering. The following trees 
are propagated by layers. 

Acer eriocarpum, . . . fVfdte Maple. 

Acer montanum, . . . Mountain Maple. 

Acer negundo, . ^. . . ^sh-Lcaved Maple. 

Acer rubrum, .... Red- Floicering Maple. 

Acer striatum, .... Striped Maple. 

Alnus glauca, .... Black Aldar. 

Alnus serrulata, .... Common American Aldar. 

Betula lenta, .... Black Birch. 

Betula lutea, .... Yellow Birch. 

Betula papyrifera, . . . Canoe Birch. 



340 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



Betula populifolia, . . . Jf'hite Birch. 

Betula rubra, . . . . Med Birch. 

Carpinus ostrya, . . . Iro7i Wood. 

Celtis crassifolia, . . . Hack Berry. 

Celtis occidentalis, . . . American JVettle Tree. 

Cerasus borealis, . . . Red Cherry. 

Cerasus caroliniana, . . . Jfild Orange. 

Cerasus virginiana . . . Wild Cherry. 

Cornus florida, .... Dog Wood. 

Cupressus tliyoides, . . . White Cedar. 

Fagus ferruginea, . . . Red Beech. 

Fagus sylvestris, . . . White Beech. 

Gordonia lasyanthus, . . . Lohlolly Bay. 

Gordonia pubescens, . . . F)-anklinia. 

Hopea tinctoria, .... Sweet Leaf. 

Kalmia latifolia, .... Mountain Laurel. 

Laurus caroliniens'is, . . . Red Bay. 

Magnolia acuminata, . . . Cucumber Tree. 

Magnolia auriculata, . .■ . Loiig- Leaved Cucumber Tree. 

Magnolia cordata, . . . Heart-Leaved Cucumber Tree. 

Magnolia Grandiflora, . . Big Laurel. 

Magnolia tripctala, . . . Umbrella Tree. 

Morus rubra, .... Red Mulberiy. 

Nyssa aquatica, .... Tupelo. 

Nyssa sylvatica, .... Black Gum. 

Pinckneya pubens, . ... Georgia Bark. 

Pinus rigida, . , . . . Pitch Pine. 

Quercus pumila, .... Running Oak. 

Rhododendron maximum, . . Divarf Rose Bay. 

Thuja occidentalis, . . . American Arbor Vitm Tree. 

Tilia alba, White Lime Tree. 

Tilia americana, .... Bass Wood. 

Tilia pubescens, .... Doivny Lime Tree. 

Ulmus rubra, .... Red or Slippery Elm. 

3d. Cuttings. Shoots of one year's growth are the most 
proper to be used in this mode of propagating several kinds of 
forest trees. The shoots should be selected from the most 
healthy and free-grown branches, and cut into lengths of from six 
to eighteen inches, according to the kind of tree. If evergreens 
(a, Plate 104), the leaves should be cut off half way up from 
the root end of the cutting (h). Deciduous trees should have 
shed their leaves before the cuttings (c) are taken from them. 
The root ends of the cuttings should be cut finely smooth, and 
inserted from about a half to three parts of their length into the 



ARBORICULTURE. 



341 



soil. For every species of cutting, the soil should be light, and 
composed, at least, of half of fine siliceous sand. There are 
many species of exotic plants, whose cuttings will only strike 
root in pure siliceous sand. It need hardly be remarked, that in 
this mode of propagating, watering is 
more particularly required to be attend- 
ed to than in any other. The utility 
of the sandy nature of the soil consists 
in its retaining no stagnant moisture, 
but just sufficient for the wants of the 
shoot during the process of rooting. 
As soon as the cuttings are well rooted, 
if in a light soil of the above description, 
they should be carefully taken up and 
transplanted to their proper soil ; for although the shoots produce 
roots more quickly and in greater abundance in the siliceous 
sandy soil, yet it is unable to support the growth of the plant after 
the proper functions of the roots begins. Next to that of 
propagation by seeds, plants may be increased by cuttings more 
generally than by any other mode : the process, however, requires 
more time, skill, and attention, than is demanded for rearing ti-ees 
from suckers, or by layers or grafting, and it is therefore chiefly 
practised for the increase of exotic ornamental plants ; but the 
following forest trees are most advantageously raised from cuttings. 




PLATE CIV. 



Anona triloba, 
Platanus occidentalis, 
Populus angulata, 
Populus argentea, 
Populus candicans, 
Populus grandidentata. 
Populus liudsonica, 
Populus monilifera, 
Populus tremuloides, 
Salix ligustrina, . 
Salix lucida, 
Salix nigra, 
Virgilia lutea. 



Paivpaiv. 
Button Wood. 
Carolinian Poplar. 
Cotton Tree. 
Heart- Leaved Poplar. 
Large American Aspen. 
American Black Poplar. 
Virginian Poplar. 
American Aspen. 
Champlain Tfilloiv, 
Shining Willoic. 
Black Willow. 
Yellow Wood. 



4th. Grafting, in forest-tree propagation, is chiefly had 
recourse to for those varieties of trees which lose their distinctive 



343 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

characters when reproduced from seed, and which make finer 
trees when grafted on free growing stocks of their own species. 
The scions take more freely when not more than of one year's 
growth, but those of much older growth will succeed. The most 
perfect grafting is where the scion and the part of the stock to 
which it is to be united are nearly of an equal size, for on the 
perfect contact of the inner bark of the scion and stock depend 
the perfect union of the two in the shortest space of time, and 
consequent equal healing of the wound. The month of March 
or April is the best season for forest-tree grafting. The modes 
of grafting are numerous. French authors enumerate upwards 
of forty ; for the purposes now under consideration, however, 
that termed whip or tongue grafting is generally followed. The 
scions should be selected from the more upright, free-growing 
branches ; the middle portion of the shoot is the best; but where 
there is a scarcity of grafts, the top and bottom may be used, 
as these will succeed, though not likely to produce such fine 
trees. From two to five buds should be left for the production 
of a leading stem and branches. The stock should be cut in an 
oblique direction (a, Plate 105), and the scion in like manner at 
h a corresponding angle (d) ; a slit should then 
be made in the stock about the middle of the 
wound, passing downwards (c), and a similar 
slit upwards in the scion (&); the upper division 
of the scion made by the slit, termed the tongue 
or wedge, is then inserted into the cleft of the 
stock, and the inner barks of the stock and scion 
brought into perfect contact, at least on one 
PLATE cv. side. This should be effected with as little 
delay as possible. The parts are then to be bound with a riband 
of bass, and particular care should be taken that, in this part of 
the process, the junction of the two barks is not in the least 
displaced. To protect the grafted parts from drought and 
moisture, and from the action of the air, various means have 
been adopted, but the most direct and useful is well-worked clay, 
cleaned of gravel or small stones, and horse droppings, well 
incorporated and mixed in the proportions of three parts of the 




ARBORICULTURE. 



343 




PLATE CVr. 



former to one of the latter ; a little finely-chopped straw is added 
with advantage. The clay should be placed on the grafted parts 
an inch thick on every side, and extend about half an inch above 
and below the union of the stock with the graft. It is a 
highly useful practice to draw earth up round the clay so as to 
cover it entirely from the sun and air. Another mode, called 
saddle grafting, is perhaps better adapted for forest 
trees than the foregoing, but it takes up more time 
in the performance. The stock should be cut so 
as to leave the top in the form of a wedge 
(a, Plate 106) ; the scion split at the lower end, 
and each side of the incision pared obliquely, so 
as to form the two divisions into tongue-like pro- 
cesses {h) ; these are then seated on the wedge 
and made to fit accurately to each side of it. The 
after operations of tying and claying are the same as in the 
former mode. The trees which come under the forester's care 
that require to be reared by grafting are the following. 

Fagus sylvestris 
Fraxinus americana, . 
Fraxinus platycarpa, . 
Fraxinus quadrangulata, 
Fraxinus sambucifolia, 
Fraxinus tomentosa, 
Fraxinus Viridis, 
Ilex opaca, . 
Malus coronaria, . 
Planera ulmifolia, 
Populus canadensis, 
Populus candicans, 
Quercus Prinus Cliinquapin 
Robinia viscosa, . 
Ulmus alata, 
Ulmus americana, 
Ulmus rubra, 



White Beech. 
White Ash. 
Carolinian Ash. 
Blue Ash. 
Black Ash. 

Red Ash. ~~ 

Ch'een Ash. 
American Holly. 
Crab Apple. 
Planer Tree. 
Cotton Wood. 
Heart-Leaved Poplar. 
S7nall Chesnut Oak. 
Rose-Flowering Locust. 
Wahoo. 
White Elm. 



Red or Slippery Elm. 
The stocks for these trees should be raised from seed of the com- 
mon species, to which each variety is nearest allied, for the nearer 
the connection of the stock with the graft the more lasting is the 
union and more perfect the growth. In trees that have been 
grafted on unsuitable stocks, we frequently see the base of the stem 



344 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

abruptly contracted to a smaller circumference than the upper 
portion, and vice versa, just as the stock or the graft happens to 
possess the freest habit of growth. The stocks should be planted 
in rows two feet apart, and should be one foot distant plant from 
plant. When arrived at two years of transplanted growth they will 
be in a fit state to graft. The grafts should be united to the stock 
as near to the root as convenient. This facilitates the vigorous 
growth of the tree, and allows of the earth being drawn up on each 
side to cover the clayed portion of the graft. The clay should be 
removed from the grafts, and the ties or bandages loosened when 
the progress of the new shoots of the graft indicates the perfect 
completion of the process. In the spring following that in which 
the trees were grafted, many of them may be transplanted to 
their permanent sites ; but it is better, as a general rule, to defer 
transplanting until the second autumn or spring. The size of the 
different kinds of trees most suitable for final transplanting is a 
point of some importance, particularly when the planting is on a 
large scale, and where the preservation of every fibre of the roots 
of the plants cannot be accomplished without an unnecessary ex- 
pense of time and labour. A very young plant may be readily 
taken up and transplanted with its roots entire ; but a plant of 
several feet in height requires considerable care in taking it up to 
preserve its roots from injury. The structure and the functions 
of the roots of trees, as connected with the produce and support 
of the plant were before described, and clearly point out the es- 
sential use of the minute rootlets and their accompanying spongeols 
or glands to the nourishment of the plant in every stage of its 
growth, and under every change of circumstance. Accordingly 
we find that, if a plant is taken up and transplanted with all its 
roots entire and uninjured, it experiences scarcely any perceptible 
check, unless its roots are exposed to the effects of the sun and 
wind for any considerable time, in which case it makes little, if any 
progress for a season. A moderate degree of pruning, however, 
of the overgrown and straggling roots of young trees, possessing 
the reproductive power in a full degree, and of the branches of 
their stems, is often expedient, and, when judiciously performed, 
is beneficial : it prevents the accident of doubling up the roots, 



ARBORICl^LTURE. 345 

or improperly disposing them in the soil, an evil of worse conse- 
quences to the plant than the shortening of an overgrown root, or 
lateral branch. To trees which possess the reproductive power 
in a very imperfect degree, pruning the roots or branches pre- 
paratory to transplanting is injurious. The facility with which 
young plants of any kind can be taken up without hurting the 
roots, and the slight pruning which they require at that stage of 
growth, point out as a general rule in deciding on the most proper 
size of the different species of trees for final transplanting, that 
the non-reproductive kinds should be of the smallest size or ear- 
liest stage of growth, and those in which the reproductive power 
is greatest of the largest size. If we divide the stem of a white 
pine, or a larch, a corresponding stem is not reproduced j but if 
we cut down, in like manner, a willow, or even a chestnut, or an 
oak, a vigorous stem will follow. Where the habit of the roots is 
to divide into large branches, and run deep into the ground, as in 
the case of the oak, younger plants are required for transplanting 
than in those instances where the habit of the root is to produce 
numerous fibres. The nature of the soil also dictates, in some 
measure, the size of the plants. In rocky, elevated soils that 
cannot be ploughed or trenched, nor can allow of proper sized 
holes being made with the spade, plants of one or two years' 
growth, or such as have small roots, can only be planted : when 
exposed to severe winds, plants above one foot in height are 
loosened in the soil, and never prosper. For the purposes of 
general or extensive works of forest planting, the best sizes of 
the plants of the different species of trees at the period of trans- 
planting to their timber sites, may be thus enumerated : 

1st. NON-REPKODUCTIVE OR RESINOUS TREES. 



Abies alba, White or Single Spruce, 
Abies balsamifera, American Silver Fir, 
Abies canadensis, Hemlock Spruce, 
Abies nigra, Black or Double Spruce, . 
Cupressus thyoides, f^FTiite Cedar, 
Juniperus virginiana, Red Cedar, . 
Pinus inops, Jersey Pine, 
Pinus pungens, Table Mountain Pine, 

44 



Hei^hf. 

from 6 to 20 inches. 

9 " 20 « 

9 « 20 « 

6 « 20 " 

9 " 20 " 

9 « 20 « 

6 " 18 « 



13 



346 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



Helffht. 




6 " 20 


(( 


6 « 18 


(( 


6 " 18 


(C 


. 12 " 36 


(( 


6 " 18 


« 


9 « 20 


u 


Height. 




from 6 to 24 inches 


6 " 24 


u 


. 12 « 30 


11 


. 12 « 30 


M 


. 12 " 30 


U 


9 « 30 


(( 


9 « 30 


(( 


. 6 " 20 


(C 


. 10 « 30 


U 


6 " 30 


(( 


6 « 30 


u 


. 18 « 36 


(C 


. 12 « 36 


(( 



Pinus rigida, Pitch Pine, 

Pinus rubra, Red or JVorivay Pine, 

Pinus serotina, Pond Pine, . 

Pinus strobus, TfTiite Pine, . 

Pinus toedia, Loblolly Pine, . 

Thuja occidentalis, American Arbor Vitce, 



2cl. Reproductive trees. 



Acer nigrum, Black Sugar Maple, 
Acer sacchaninum, Sugar Maple, 
Carpinus americana, American Hornbeam, 
Carpinus ostrya, Iron Wood, 
Castanea vesca, American Chesnut, 
Fagus ferruginea, Red Beech, 
Fagus sylvestris, TVliite Beech, 
Fraxinus, Ash, different species of, 
Juglans, Hickory, different species of, • 
Platanus occidentalis, Button Wood, 
Quercus, Oak, different species of, 
Salix, Willoiv, species of, . . . 
Tilia, Ldme, and other species, 



Budding, or grafting by gems, consists in taking an eye or bud 
attached to a portion of the bark, of different sizes and forms, 
and generally called a shield, and transporting it to a place in 
another, or a different vegetable. It may be performed with buds 
of two or three years' standing, and on trees of considerable 
size, but not generally so. The object in view in budding is 
almost always that of grafting, and depends on the same princi- 
ple ; all the difference between a bud and a scion being, that a 
bud is a shoot, or scion, in embryo. In all other respects, bud- 
ding is conducted on the same principle as grafting. 

The operation of common budding may be performed any 
time from the beginning of July to the middle of August j the 
criterion being the formation of the buds in the axil of the leaf of 
the present year. The buds are known to be ready by the 
shield or portion of bark, to which they are attached, easily part- 
ing with the wood. The buds preferred are generally those on 
the middle of a young shoot, as being neither so apt to run to 



ARBORICULTURE. 347 

wood as those at the extremity, nor so apt to He dormant as those 
at the lower end. In some cases, however, the buds from the 
middle and extremity of the shoots are to be rejected, and those 
taken which are at the base of the annual shoots. 

The stocks for budding may, in general, be much smaller than 
for grafting, as the operation may be performed on the same 
year's shoot. But it may also be performed on shoots or stems 
of several years' growth, and in such, by inserting a number of 
buds, a complete tree may be formed at once. 

For gathering the shoots containing the buds, an early or late 
hour is chosen, on this principle, that the leaves being at these 
periods in a less active state of perspiration and suffer least from 
being separated from their parent plant. They are preserved 
fresh, and may be sent a great distance by inserting their "ends in 
water or moist moss j though, in general, they should be used as 
soon after gathering as possible, and the whole operation should 
be performed with the greatest celerity. 

Professor Thouin enumerates twenty-three species and varieties 
of budding ; but we shall here describe only one, which is in 
general use : viz. 

Shield budding, or T budding. This is performed by select- 
ing a smooth part on the side of the stock, rather from than to- 
wards the sun, and of a height depending, as in grafting, on 
whether dwarf, half or whole standard trees, are desired ; then 
with the budding knife, make a horizontal cut across the rind, 
quite through to the firm wood ; from the middle of this traverse 
cut, make a slit downward, perpendicularly, an inch or more 
long, going also quite through to the wood. This done, proceed 
with all expedition to take off a bud ; holding a cutting, or scion, 
in one hand, with the thickest end outward, and with the knife in 
the other hand, enter it about half an inch or more below a bud, 
cutting near halfway into the wood of the shoot, continuing it with 
one clean slanting cut, about half of an inch or more above the bud, 
so deep as to take off part of the wood along with it, the whole 




348 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

about an inch and a half long (Plate 107 a); then 
directly with the thumb and finger, or point of the 
knife, slip off the woody part remaining to the bud ; 
which done, observe whether the eye or gem of the 
bud remains perfect ; if not, and a little hole ap- 
pears in that part it is improper, or as foresters ex- 
press it, the bud has lost its root, and another must 
be prepared. This done, placing the back part of 
the bud or shield between your lips, expeditiously 
PLATE cvii. with the flat haft of the knife separate the bark of 
the stock on each side of the perpendicular cut clear to the wood 
(c), for the admission of the bud, which directly slip down, close 
between the wood and bark, to the bottom of the split (d) . The 
next operation is to cut off the top part of the shield (b) even 
with the horizontal first made cut, in order to let it completely 
into its place, and to join exactly the upper edge of the shield 
with the transverse cut, that the descending sap may immediately 
enter the bark of the shield, and protrude granulated matter be- 
tween it and the wood, so as to effect a living union. The parts 
are now to be immediately bound round with a ligament of bass, 
or some substitute, (e), previously soaked in water, to render it 
pHable and tough, beginning a little below the bottom of the per- 
pendicular slit, proceeding upward closely round every part, except 
just over tlie eye of the bud, and continue it a little above the 
horizontal cut, not too tight, but just sufficient to keep the whole 
close, and exclude the air, sun and wet. 

Modes of transplanting. Much difference of opinion prevails 
on the comparative merits of the different methods of planting 
from time to time introduced, and more or less practised. 
Trenching is held by some to be essential to success, without 
considering that there are situations and soils where timber of the 
most valuable quality may be produced that cannot be dug or 
trenched. Others again infer, that to insert seedling plants into 
the soil in its natural state is all that is required for the production 
of timber and underwood possessing every requisite value. 

These opinions are too exclusive ; they have led to baneful ef-, 
fects, and still are the cause why many extensive tracts of land 



ARBORICULTURE. 



349 



lie waste, which otherwise might have heen covered with profita- 
ble plantations. Well-regulated economy in the expense, or first 
outlay, is one of the principles of the art important to be attended 
to in practice. Accordingly it is not surprizing to find some 
modes of planting invented, and others misapplied, under the 
mistaken impression of furthering this principle, at the serious 
risk of retarding the healthy growth and prosperity of the trees, 
and of producing results completely subversive of the intention. 

The great object of transplanting trees from seed beds, layer 
stools, cutting grounds, Sic. to nursery rows, or beds previous to 
their final transplantation for good, is to increase the number of 
fibres and rootlets ; and, by ensuring the free uninterrupted 
formation of healthy stems and buds, to lay the foundation of a 
vigorous constitution in each individual plant before it be finally 
transplanted to its timber site. 

The different modes of planting trees on their timber sites are 
denominated, first, slit planting; second, holing or pitting j third, 
trench planting ; fourth, furrow planting. There are also varie- 
ties of these characterized by the instruments or tools used for 
inserting the roots of the plants into the soil. 

Slit planting is the most simple mode, and is practised on 
soils in their natural state, without any preparation of holing, 
ploughing or trenching. It is performed by three different kinds 
of instruments : viz. by the moor j^iftnter, (Plate 108 a), by the 
diamond dibble (5), and by the common garden spade. 



a 





PLATE CVIIL 



1st. The moor planter (a) is a heavy instrument, consisting of 
a wooden shaft and handle two feet nine inches in length, termi- 
nated by a single slightly curved prong of well tempered iron or 
steel fifteen inches in length, two and a half inches broad at the 



350 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

insertion of the shaft, and gradually tapering to the point. The 
handle is made sufficiently large to be grasped by both hands, 
and the operator with one stroke drives the prong into the ground 
to the depth required for seeding trees, and by depressing the 
handle, the point of the instrument raises up the earth, leaving a 
vacuity or opening in loose earth, into which a person, holding a 
plant in readiness, places the root, and with the foot fixes it in 
the soil. A stout active workman with tWs instrument, and the 
aid of a boy, will transplant a greater number of seeding trees 
on light moor soils than by any other method at present known. 

3d. The diamond dibble (b) is recommended by Sang : it is 
made of a triangular-shaped plate of steel, furnished with an iron 
shaft and wooden handle. The sides are each four inches long, 
and the upper part or side four inches and a half broad. It is 
used for planting on sandy and gravelly soils where the surface 
produce of herbage is short. In this case the planter makes the 
ground ready with the instrument in one hand, and inserts the 
plant with the other. He carries the plants in a bag or basket 
suspended from his waist ; he strikes the dibble into the ground 
in a slanting direction so as to direct the point inwards, and, by 
drawing the handle towards himself, an opening is made, and 
kept open by the steel plate for the reception of the roots of the 
plant by the other hand. The instrument is then removed, and 
the earth made firm about the roots of the plant by a stroke with 
the heel of the instrument. 

3d. By the spade, a cut is made in the turf with the spade and 
crossed by another at a right angle : the two cuts thus made re- 
semble the figure of the letter T. The handle of the spade 
being depressed backwards forces open the edges of the cuts, and 
in the opening thus made the roots of the plant are inserted ; the 
spade is then withdrawn, and the turf replaced by pressure with 
the foot. 

Sir John Sinclair describes an improved mode of slit planting, 
as follows. The operator with his spade makes three cuts, twelve 
or fifteen inches long, crossing each other in the centre, at an 
angle of sixty degrees, the whole having the form of a star. He 
inserts his spade across one of the rays (a), a few inches from 



ARBORICULTURE. 361 

the centre, and on the side next himself; then bending 
the handle towards himself and almost to the ground, 
the earth opening in fissures from the centre in the di- 
rection of the cuts that had been made, he, at the same 
"^ instant, inserts his plant at the point where the spade 
PLATE cix. intersected the ray (Plate 109 a), pushing it forward 
to the centre, and assisting the roots in rambling through the 
fissures. He then lets down the earth by removing his spade, 
having compressed it into a compact state with his heel ; the ope- 
ration is finished by adding a little earth with the grass side down, 
completely covering the fissures, for the purpose of retaining the 
moisture at the root, and likewise as a top dressing, which greatly 
encourages the plant to push fresh roots between the swards. 

4th. The defects of the slit mode of planting are, that the 
earth is not properly reduced in its texture to suit the tender 
fibres of the roots of seedling plants, and the natural plants of the 
surface are left to contend with them for the nourishment afford- 
ed by the soil, nor can the rootlets of the young trees be disposed 
and placed in their right positions. The least objectionable 
practice is to cut a circular piece of the turf, a foot in diameter, 
and lay it on one side with the surface downwards ; the work- 
man then with his spade loosens and breaks down the texture of 
the uncovered soil, and, by making ample space for the extension 
of the roots of his plant in every direction, inserts it in the pul- 
verized earth. The turf which had been reversed and laid on 
one side, is then with a stroke of the spade divided into two equal 
parts, and replaced on each side of the plant in its reversed posi- 
tion. The reversed turf supports the plant against the effects of 
the wind, retains the proper moisture of the soil, and prevents 
the evil consequences resulting to the lateral branches of the 
young tree, and to the healthy progress of the stem, from the un- 
controlled growth of the herbage natural to the soil, — all of which, 
by the former modes, are rather encouraged than checked. In 
uninclosed commons or moors, the natural herbage and shrubby 
plants are kept under by cattle, Sic. ; but when such lands are 
inclosed for planting, and thereby protected from stock, the 
natural plants, which before' appeared diminutive and slow of 



352 SY1.VA AMERICANA. 

growth, suddenly attain a size and vigorous vegetation highly det- 
rimental to the young forest trees. 

2. Mattock planting is confined chiefly to rocky ground, and 
to soils containing many coarse tough roots of herbage, heath, 
&c. ; and under these circumstances the mattock is an indispen- 
sable instrument. It is thus described in the Planter's Kalen- 
dar : — ' The handle is three feet six inches long ; the mouth is 
five inches broad, and is made sharp j the length of it to the eye or 
shaft is sixteen inches, the small end or pick is seventeen inches 
long.' (c, Plate 108.) It may be unnecessary to mention that 
the broad or hoe end should be faced with steel and kept well 
sharpened ; it is perfectly effective in cutting or paring the heath, 
furze, &;c., and the pick end is equally so for thoroughly loosen- 
ing and fitting the soil to be operated on with the spade or plan- 
ter (d). The hackle prongs are recommended for clayey, tena- 
cious soils, which are difiicult to work with the spade. It is 
made with two or three prongs ; the former of two for the soil 
just mentioned, and the latter of three prongs for stony or gravelly 
soils. 

3. Holing. Holes or pits are dug out, and the loosened soil 
left for a season to the action of the weather, to meliorate or re- 
duce its texture. Time should be afforded for the rotting or de- 
composition of the turf or surface produce taken off the space 
which is opened, previous to the period of planting. The size 
of the holes should vary according to the size of the plants to be 
planted, and to the nature of the subsoil. Plants from one and a 
half to two feet high should have the holes two feet wide and 
eighteen inches deep, prepared in the summer or autumn for the 
reception of the plants in the spring. For trees of larger growth, 
the extent of the roots must determine the size of the holes, 
making an allowance of from six inches to a foot of extra width 
beyond the extreme points of the roots. Holes made in tenacious 
clays retain the water which falls into them, and rots the roots of 
the trees j dry, light, sandy soils cannot be benefitted by the pul- 
verizing action of the sun and air ; rocky soils admit but imper- 
fectly of holing J and some kinds of binding gravelly soils are as 
liable to the retention of moisture as stiff clays. The practice of 



ARBORICULTURE. 353 

holing is therefore never attended with success on these kinds of 
soil. 

Spade planting applies to land prepared for the reception of 
the plants by trenching. Although this mode of planting is the 
most common in use, and may appear to require but little exer- 
cise of skill on the part of the operator, it is nevertheless often 
very badly executed. It is best performed when the holes are 
made a few inches wider than the roots of the plant extend ; the 
earth of the bottom of the hole should be broken down with the 
spade, the sides all round should be made to slope inwards so as 
to cause the bottom to be wider than the top. The person who 
holds the plant should then place it in the centre of the pit, and 
the operator with the spade should have ready some fine surface 
soil to cover the bottom and raise it up to the proper height, the 
person holding the plant raising it at the same time, so that it 
may stand not deeper in the soil than it previously stood. The 
earth should then be carefully thrown in a finely-divided state, 
and the plant during the operation slightly moved, so as to pre- 
vent the roots from being covered in bundles, and to afford each 
root and rootlet to have a portion of the soil intervening between 
it and the rest. Treading should be avoided, as it renders the 
soil cohesive, which in stiiF or heavy land is an evil of great mag- 
nitude to newly -planted roots. In light soils, however, a slight 
pressure v/ith the foot to keep the plant steady in its place is ne- 
cessary, particularly if the wenther is dry during the season of 
planting j but in cases where it is practicable, it is much more 
beneficial to settle the earth about the roots of the plants by a free 
application of water in the usual manner. 

It is the best and most expeditious practice to have one set of 
men to make the holes, and another to finish the planting. When 
different species of trees are to be mixed in the plantation, and in 
unequal proportions, each species is successively distributed and 
planted. What we have already stated respecting the great im- 
portance to the success of the plants of not suffering the roots to 
be dried by exposure to the sun or wind, may render it unneces- 
sary to urge here, that the distribution of the plants on the ground 
should not be farther in advance than just to keep the planters 
45 



354 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

fully employed. Before laying the plants out on the spots wher© 
they are to be planted, it is a most useful practice to dip the 
roots in water, or in a puddle made of water and rich mould. In 
planting on a confined scale, the plants may be distributed as before, 
and two workmen may proceed to open the pits on the spots. As 
soon as the hole is opened, one of the operators places the roots 
of the plant In the hole, while the other with his spade finishes 
the process as above directed. By this method the holes can be 
made proportionate to the size of the roots of the different plants, 
which, when of various species, are oftentimes also of different 
sizes. When circumstances warrant the previous preparation of 
the soil necessary to this mode of planting, it should be adopted, 
as being the most perfect and effective. 

Furroiv planting is performed by opening a furrow with the 
trenching plough, or with two common ploughs ; the one succeed- 
ing the other In the same trench or furrow,, and opening It to the 
depth to be required by the roots of the trees. The roots being 
placed in the furrow at the proper distances, the workman with 
the spade finds no difficulty in obtaining the necessary quantity 
of pulverized soil to complete the work. This mode of planting 
has been practised with success on the Duke of Bedford's estates 
in Bedfordshire, and in Buckinghamshire in the neighborhood of 
Woburn, England. The implement employed was a very strong 
plough, drawn by six horses, and opening a furrow from twelve 
to sixteen inches deep, turning the sward or heath over on each 
side. This was followed by a scufiler or grubber of three tines, 
which completely stirred and pulverized the soil. On light land 
eight acres a day was done In this way, but the soil must be li^ht 
and free from large stones or other obstructions. 

That extensive and valuable plantations have been made 
by slit planting, there are abundant proofs, and on elevated, thin, 
light soils incumbent on rock, or where trenching cannot be ef- 
fected or the furrow plough be used, this mode may be adopted 
with economy and success. Before planting by this method, 
however. It Is essential to know the precise nature of the subsoil, 
and that there does not exist a hardened stratum, impervious to 
water, beneath the surface, which frequently happens in heaths, 



ARBORICULTURE, 355 

or siliceous, sandy moor lands, it generally consists of the heath 
soil in a compact layer about an inch thick, containing a large 
proportion of oxide of iron, and impervious to water. Beneath, 
and next to this, is generally gray or white sand, surcharged with 
water ; and whenever trees are planted, by the slit mode, on soils 
so constituted, they never make any healthy growth, but perish 
so soon as the roots reach the hardened stratum : trenching, or 
the furrow plough must be employed in such cases to destroy the 
impervious stratum, and render free the circulation of water and 
air, otherwise the attempt to establish trees will be vain. When 
the land is clean, friable, moderately deep, free from, and not 
retentive of stagnant moisture, the mode (Tf planting by holing 
may be adopted with propriety. Lands of a tenacious, clayey 
nature, and also those of the best quality, employed for forest 
planting, ought to be trenched, as being the most economical ulti- 
mately, and the most effectual, for these kinds of soil. 

The principle on which manure is objected to for the rearing 
of forest trees, is, that it will force the growth of the tree beyond 
its natural state, and render the deposit of vegetable fibre soft, 
and of diminished strength and durability. This, however, is 
carrying the point to an extreme to which it is never likely to be 
in the power of any planter to arrive, were he even willing to at- 
tempt it. To manure a poor soil, for it should be here kept in 
view that this and not a rich, or even moderately rich soil, is 
intended, can have but one effect, and that is to improve the 
growth of the trees. But the great, immediate, and important 
object of manure here, is to furnish a liberal supply of food while 
the plant is in its first stages of growth, thereby giving it the 
means to form a strong constitution, enlarging its number of roots 
and rootlets, and, at the same time, improving the quality of the 
exhalations from the soil, for absorption by the leaves, which is, 
in fact, a melioration of the local climate or air. All these im- 
portant points to the health of the tree, to the value of its timber, 
and to the attainment of the object in view, a valuable return in 
the shortest space of time for the capital expended, are thus 
highly promoted, and, in a great measure, secured by trenching, 



356 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



manuring, and keeping clean of weeds or surface culture for a 
limited period after planting. 

The proper distances at which young forest trees should be 
planted on their timber sites depends on the natural habits of 
growth of the different species, the nature and preparation of the 
soil, and the size of the plants to be planted. 

The larch, spruce, and pine require less space than the oak, 
chesnut, elm, &ic» The nature of the soil will determine the pe- 
culiar species of trees which should predominate in the planta- 
tion, and point out the distances at which they should be placed. 
If the soil is thin and of a light texture, the fir tribe should oc- 
cupy the largest proportion, if not the whole space of land ; if 
clayey, the oak, elm, ash, Sic, should be the principal trees in 
the design ; and, if a deep sandy soil, or if the soil be calcareous, 
elevated land, the beech ought to have tlie preference — all with 
the view to the ultimate produce of timber. The following table 
may be useful for readily pointing out the number of trees requir- 
ed for a statute acre of land when planted at any undermention- 
ed distances : — 



Distance ar^rt. 

1 foot 

u „ 

2 » 
2i „ 

3 „ 

3i » 

4 „ 
4i „ 

5 „ 

6 „ 

7 „ 



Number of Plants. 

43,560 

19,360 

10,890 

G,969 

4,840 

3,556 

2,722 

2,232 

1^742 

1,210 

889 

680 

537 



Distance apart. Number of Plants 


10 feet . 


435 


11 „ . . . 


360 


12 „ . . . 


302 


13 „ . . . 


257 


14 „ . . . 


222 


15 „ . . . 


193 


16 „ . . . 


170 


17 ., . 


150 


18 „ . . . 


J 34 


19 „ . . . 


122 


20 „ . . . 


108 


25 „ . . 


GO 


30 „ . . . 


49 



In profitable forest-tree planting, the nearest distance at which 
young trees should be planted on their timber sites, is a yard, or 
three feet, and the widest space five feet ; the medium distance 
of four feet plant from plant is, or ought to be, that most generally 
adopted. Seedlings of three years' growth, or plants which have 
remained two years in the seed bed and one year in transplanted 



ARBORICULTURE. 3&7 

nursery rows, should be planted on their timber sites three feet 
apart every way, it being understood at the same time that the 
soil is thin, light, or sandy, and that the slit or holing-in method 
of planting is used. But should the soil have been prepared by 
ploughing and trenching, and be in a clean fallow state, the me- 
dium distance of four feet, or three and a half feet, if the species 
of trees to be planted are exclusively of the fir or pine tribe, 
will be the most proper. Trees of the age now alluded to will 
vary in size from nine to twenty inches in height, exclusive of 
some species of poplar, elm, &tc., which grow faster than the 
generality of forest trees. In well-prepared land of a deeper sur- 
face soil than the above, plants from eighteen to twenty-four 
inches in height of the fir tribes may be planted with advantage ; 
and deciduous trees, as the oak, chesnut, elm, he, from three to 
four feet in height, may be planted at the distance of five feet 
apart. In the last case a return of profits from thinnings will be 
obtained at least two years earlier than from transplanted seed- 
lings, under the like circumstances of soil. Trees planted as 
nurses foi* assisting the progress of those intended for timber are 
of quick growth, and in the course of from seven to twelve years 
will have attained to a size fit for the purposes of fencing, or to be 
used as poles, coopers' ware, &:c., according to local demand. 
When the nurse trees have arrived at this stage of growth, they 
will require to be partially thinned, to make room for the timber 
trees, or principals o( the plantation, as they are termed. When- 
ever the branches of the former interfere w^ith those of the latter, 
no time should be lost in remedying the evil, by pruning the 
nurse trees, or cutting them down. If the different operations of 
planting have been judiciously performed, the value of the trees 
thinned out at this period, will cover the rent of the land, with 
compound interest on the capital expended in planting it. Hence 
the importance of nurse trees, and the propriety of furnishing the; 
ground at first with a sufficient number of young plants to be cut 
down and taken away periodically, until the principal timber trees 
have attained to maturity. In poor soils, where tlie original out- 
lay of capital and the rent of the land are both small, tlie expen 
diture will be covered by the periodical crop of thinnings, and 



358 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

vice versa in better soils, authorizing a larger expenditure in the 
preparation, in the size of the plants, and in the mode of plant- 
ing, a comparatively" superior number of trees of increased value 
will be produced at each periodical thinning. These results are 
certain to follow judicious planting. 

The third and last mode of rearing forest trees proposed to be 
discussed at the head of this chapter, is that of selecting the supe- 
rior shoots of coppice stools, and training them to full-grown 
timber trees. The oak, on account of the value of its bark, is 
more frequently reared in this way than the elm, ash, and chesnut. 
The timber of coppice trees is in general faulty, and of inferior 
quality to that reared from seeds. Where care, however, is 
taken in the selection of the shoots from healthy and not over- 
aged coppice stools, timber of the best quality may be obtained 
from them. 

The produce of coppice stools consists of materials for fence 
wood, fuel, besoms, &tc. Poles and bark are the most valuable 
of this produce, where the practice is to leave no standards, or 
saplings of timber. It is, however, perfectly clear, that when a 
wood or coppice offers to the purchaser produce of various sizes 
convertible to various uses, along with full-grown timber for navy 
purposes, the sale is more readily effected, and generally on 
better terms, than when the produce consists of smaller wood 
only. In making choice of the shoots of coppice stools to be 
trained for timber trees, great care should be had to select none 
but such as are straight and vigorous, and which originate as near 
to the roots of the stool as possible. The neglect of this latter 
circumstance is the chief cause of the unsoundness of coppice- 
reared timber, particularly at the root or butt end of the bole. 
The parent wood of coppice stools is most frequently suffered to 
rise too high from the roots, consequently the shoots emitted from 
it never grow with so much vigor, or attain to so great a size in 
a given space of time, as when the stool is kept within an inch 
or two of the surface of the ground. When the parent stool is a 
foot or more in height from the root, it becomes divided into 
pointed rugged parts, and if a tiller or shoot, left for a tree, is sit- 
uated near to one or other of these, the stub is in time encompassed 



ARBORICUJLTURE. 359 

by the bark of the young tree wholly or partially, which causes 
blemish and unsoundness in the timber, as well as obstruction to 
its prosperous growth. The stumps of coppice stools should, 
therefore, be cut near to the surface of the ground, and the face 
of the stubs as level and free from fractures as can be. The kinds 
of trees most profitable for coppice produce are those which 
possess the reproductive power in the highest degree ; these were 
before enumerated. It may be necessary here to observe that 
the non-reproductive trees, such as all the pine and fir tribes, are 
unfit for the purposes of coppice. The shoot, or tiller, being 
selected with due attention to these essential points, all other 
shoots belonging to the parent stool should be cut away close to 
the root. The young tree should then receive the sanae treatment 
as other trees reared by seed or transplanting. 

Simple plantations consist of one or two species of trees only ; 
mixed plantations of many different species. The latter, on 
suitable soils, are the most profitable ; they afford an earlier, 
more permanent, and a larger return for capital than simple 
plantations. The judicious arrangement of the different forest 
trees, not only promotes the greatest returns of profit from the 
plantations, but likewise effects the highest embellishment to the 
estate and surrounding country. 

Shelter in winter and shade in summer are also important 
points. Evergreen trees, and such deciduous ones as retain their 
leaves to a later period of the year (the beech, and some varieties 
of the oak) afford much greater shelter in winter and in early 
spring, when it is most wanted, than those which lose their leaves 
early in autumn, and should, therefore, be planted wherever 
shelter is most desired. Shade is best afforded by trees which, 
rising with naked stems to a certain height, afterwards send out 
an extended series of branches, as the oak, beech, chesnut and 
elm, which can be readily trained to that state by pruning, and 
their spreading branches and umbrageous foliage are highly 
superior for this intention than those of the ash, sycamore, 
plane, etc. 

Although mixed planting, as just now observed, is the most 
profitable, and, under skilful massing and grouping, the most 



360 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

embellishing to the landscape, yet there are certain circumstances 
connected with the growth of the various species of forest trees, 
which, when they occur, effectually control the choice of the 
planter in his modes of arrangement : these are, first, the peculiar 
nature of the soil to be planted ; secondly, the climate, or the 
exposure and elevation of the site of the plantation. In planting, 
soils may be divided into simple and mixed. The latter allows 
of the fullest scope to mixed planting. Simple soils are those 
which contain the smallest number of ingredients in their 
composition, or which consist chiefly of one substance ; as sandy 
soils, containing from nine-tenths of sand to one twentieth, the 
supposed point of absolute steriHty for even common herbage, 
are properly termed simple sandy soils, and on which the pine, 
fir, larch, and perhaps the birch, can only be planted. Soils 
consisting of from seven-eighths to a larger proportion of chalk 
will rear the beech chiefly ; and when the proportion of one half 
of vegetable matter to one half of sand and loam meet in a soil, 
it is properly simple vegetable earth, and comes under the 
denomination of peat, of which there are several kinds, but which 
will be more particularly mentioned under the head of soils. On 
this last-mentioned soil the planter is chiefly confined to the 
poplar and alder : the willow and birch only partially succeed, 
or when the vegetable matter is in a less proportion to the other 
ingredients above stated. 

The elevation of the sight of the intended plantation above the 
level of the sea, where that is considerable, influences the local 
climate so much as often to confine the choice of the planter to 
one or two species of trees only, even though the soil should be 
otherwise favorable for mixed planting. 

It is calculated that an elevation of six hundred feet diminishes 
the temperature of a site equal to that of one degree of north 
latitude ; the degree of dryness or humidity of the atmosphere, 
and the force of the winds seem also to increase in proportion to 
the elevation of the land. Accordingly we find that different 
species of trees occupy different region^and degrees of elevation 
on the mountains of the torrid, temperate and frigid zones. 

According to Humboldt, the trees which grow in the highest 



ARBORICULTURE. 361 

elevation are the pine and the birch, (these also it may be 
observed will flourish in the lowest situations, the birch in 
particular will grow in soils periodically overflowed or covered 
with water for two or three months in a year). The highest 
altitude of the growth of the pine is stated to be from twelve 
thousand to fifteen thousand feet above the level of the sea, in 
latitude 20° ; and the limits of the growth of the oak appears to 
be confined to ten thousand three hundred. The last species of 
trees found nearest to the limits of perpetual snow on Mount 
Caucasus, in latitude 42° 30', and on the Pyrenees, are the 
common birch (Betula alba), and the hooked pine (Pinus 
uncinata), and the red spruce fir (Pinus ruhi'a). On the Alps, 
latitude from 45° to 46°, the common spruce appears limited to 
an elevation of about five thousand nine hundred feet. In 
Lapland the birch is found at the altitude of one thousand six 
hundred feet in latitude 67° and 70°. 

The influence of different altitudes on the distribution and 
growth of forest trees, is evident even in the inferior elevations of 
the forests of Britain. The pine, fir and birch occupy the 
highest points ; next the sycamore and mountain elm ; lastly, the 
oak, beech, poplar, ash and chesnut. When the ground to be 
planted is, therefore, so high above the level of the sea, as to 
influence materially the nature of the climate, the forest trees to 
be planted should be selected according to the above principles. 
In practice this may be termed region planting. By imitating 
the natural process in this respect, not only the most profitable 
returns which the site and soil are capable of producing will be 
secured, but also the most ornamental effects produced on the 
landscape, and the useful ones of judicious shelter obtained. It 
generally happens in extensive planting that the soil varies in 
different parts of the site in its properties and fitness to rear one 
species of tree better than another. When these different soils 
are, therefore, planted with the different trees best adapted to 
each, masses of diversified outline will adorn the landscape, 
having all the effect of a tasteful design, and the trees will be 
46 



362 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

individually of the most healthy growth, a point of the last 
importance in ornamental effect. 

For low, damp and boggy soils, the alder, ash, birch, and the 
willow, are the best. 

Transplanting trees of large growth for immediate effect 
properly belongs to another division of the subject, ornamental 
planting. It may not be unnecessary, however, to state shortly 
the principles of the practice as lately brought forward by Sir H. 
Stewart, in his Planters' Guide. These are to take up the tree, 
with all its roots, fibres and rootlets, and also the green or external 
system of branches^ and buds entire and unbroken, then to 
transplant these roots, rootlets^ and external system of the tree in 
the same perfect state. The soil into which such trees are 
transplanted should be of a superior quality to that from whence 
they were taken, or at least that portion of it applied immediately 
to the rootlets should have an addition of very rotten manure. 
A point of great importance to success is the selection of the 
subjects. 1st. The tree should have a superior thickness and 
induration of the bark compared to that of trees which have 
grown up in a crowded state. 2d. Stoutness and superior girt 
of stem. 3d. Numerousness of roots, fibres and rootlets. And 
4th, extent, balance and closeness of branches. Where a tree, 
otherwise desirable, possesses not these protecting properties, it 
should be provided with them previous to transplanting by 
uncovering the roots partially, so as not to injure the stability of 
the tree during the process. To these exposed roots is applied 
a compost of fine earth, into which they shoot, and produce in 
two or three years numerous rootlets fit for transplanting. The 
overgrown branches are reduced so as to balance the top on 
every side, if it require it. To assist the bark, such trees as 
intercept the air and solar rays are removed. These effects are 
also produced to the roots by cutting a trench at a proper 
distance from the stem round the roots, and filling up the trench 
whh good soil ; in two or three years, the roots will be increased 
in numerous ramifications as in the former mode. 



ARBORICULTURE. 363 



CHAP. III. 

Of the Soils and Sites most profitably employed in 
THE Growth of Timber. 

From what has been said respecting the advantages of judicious 
planting, the lands and sites most proper for the growth of timber 
will have been generally understood. There has been a difference 
of opinion whether land under woods or under tillage is the most 
profitable and beneficial to the proprietors and the public ; the 
question is similar to that which exists respecting the comparative 
value of tillage land and permanent pasture, and may be solved 
in the same manner, viz., that the prosperity, if not the absolute 
existence, of the one is dependent on the other, and the interests 
of individuals as well as the public on both. The occupiers of 
land where woods are scarce, or wanting altogether, and those 
where they are in too great abundance, will coincide in the truth 
of this observation. The proportion which woods should bear 
to tillage and pasture lands in any one district of country depends 
on the nature of the soil, and the local demand for certain kinds 
of produce. 

There can be but one opinion as to the advantages of planting 
exposed waste lands, and those that are steep, rocky or precipitous. 
The loss to individuals and to the nation, by such large tracts of 
lands as those now alluded to lying utterly unproductive, is 
incalculable. 

Lands of rather a superior quality to those, or which are 
accessible to the plough, and the barrenness of which is owing to 
exposure and ungenial climate, offer great inducements to forest- 
tree planting. For when the improvement is completed it is, to 
its extent, so much added to the territorial extent of the country, 
in affording the means of sustenance as well as the enjoyment of 
human life. 

Lastly, where the local climate and soil are good, but where, 
at the same time, a scarcity of timber exists for the periodical 
wants of agricultural and manufacturing operations, as for the 
various purposes of buildings, implements of husbandry, fencing. 



.,"♦ 



364 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

poles, machinery, fuel, etc., planting is of great importance and 
utility to the community. In many cases, where the soil is of 
greater value, the planting may be confined to the angles of 
inclosures, and to hedge rows. 

In this last case it may be necessary to observe, that the land 
of the lowest comparative value for corn crops, and the most 
eligible for shelter and shade where required, should be chosen 
for planting. 

It may be useful to take a more intimate view of the nature or 
composition of those varieties of soil which have been alluded to. 
It is proper, however, to observe, that the following statements 
of the nature or constituents of these soils are not intended to 
convey the idea that they are the best sorts respectively for the 
different kinds of forest trees, but principally to show that on 
such soils these trees have attained to great perfection of growth. 
The soils were selected from the spots where the trees mentioned 
in connexion with the soils were found by a celebrated 
forester, and the trees were, on an average, the finest of the 
respective kinds which have come under his observation. 

The great importance of precision in the nomenclature of soils, 
whether in the details of planting or in husbandr)^, must be so 
clear and evident to every person who may be desirous to profit 
by the results of others' experience in these subjects, that it would 
be superfluous here to add more on the point. 

1st. Heath soil, or siliceous sandy moor soil, incumbent on 
shale or ferrugineous stones, and frequently on siliceous sand of 
great depth. 

400 parts consisted of, fine siliceous sand, . . 320 

Carbonate of lime, ...... 2 

Carbonate of magnesia, ..... l 

Decomposing vegetable matter, chiefly composed of 

the decaying leaves of heath, ... 55 

Silex, or impalpable earth of flints, . . . 1 1 

Alumina, or pure matter of clay, ... 3 

Oxide of iron, ...... 4 

Soluble matter, principally common salt, or muriate of soda, 4 

400 



ARBORICULTURE. 365 

The birch and the beech, are found to succeed better on a soil 
of the above description than any other kind of tree. For the 
latter, however, it is necessary that the subsoil should be a deep 
sand. The larch and spruce, under the like circumslances as to 
subsoil, will also attain to a good perfection on heath soil ; but 
where the subsoil is rocky, or impervious to a free circulation 
of moisture by indurated sand, which is sometimes the case, 
these last-mentioned trees never succeed. 

2d. 400 parts of poor sandy soil, incumbent on shale, or very 
coarse gravel. 

Fine sand, principally siliceous, . . . 360 
Impalpable earthy matter, 40 consisting of carbonate 

of lime, ....... 

Decomposing vegetable matter, destructible by fire, 4 

Silex, or pure earth of flints, .... 22 

Alumina, or pure matter of clay, ... 7 

Oxide of iron, ...... 5 

Soluble saline matters, chiefly muriate of soda, . 2 

400 
The pine, larch, spruce, birch and sycamore are the most 
proper for this kind of soil. 

3d. Sandy loam, incumbent on siliceous sand, containing a 
large proportion of oxide of iron. 400 parts. 

Fine sand, partly calcareous, and partly siliceous, 200 

Coarse sand, ....... 84 



Carbonate of lime. 

Decomposing vegetable matter, 

Silex, or the earth of flints. 

Alumina, .... 

Oxide of iron. 

Soluble vegetable matter, containing sulphate of potash, 

vegetable extract, and common salt, . . 4 

Loss, ........ 24 

400 



6 
15 
56 
12 

5 



366 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



The larch, pine, and fir tribe in general will succeed well on 
a soil of this texture, although the beech comes to the greatest 
perfection, or is, perhaps, the plant most profitable to employ in 
planting soils of this nature, particularly when the subsoil happens 
to be deep sand. 

4th. Light sandy siliceous soil, incumbent on a damp, 
clayey subsoil. 

Siliceous sand, of various degrees of fineness, . 290 
Gravel partly calcareous, .... 40 

Impalpable loamy matter, consisting of carbonate of 

lime, ....... 5 

Silica, or earth of flints, ..... 38 

Alumina or clay, ...... 9 

Oxide of iron, ...... 5 

Decomposing vegetable matter, ... 8 

Moisture and loss, ...... 5 

400 
The oak grows rapidly on this soil, and should constitute the 
principal timber tree of the plantation. The chesnut also 
attains to great maturity in the same kind of soil. The nurse 
trees most proper are the larch, spruce, and particularly the 
silver fir. The elm planted on this soil had not attained to the 
size of the above-mentioned trees in the same period from 
planting, but the timber was considered of a superior quality. 
5th. Clayey loam, incumbent on a clayey subsoil. 

Coarse gravel, partly calcareous, ... 40 

Fine sand, ....... 190 

Carbonate of lime, ...... 16 

Decomposing vegetable fibre, .... 14 

Silex, or pure matter of flints, .... 90 

Alumina, or pure matter of clay, ... 30 

Oxide of iron, ...... 7 

Soluble vegetable extract and saline matters, containing 

gypsum, common salt, and sulphate of potash, . 
Loss and moisture, ...... 



5 

8 

400 



This soil brings the oak to the highest state of perfection. 



AKBORICULTURE. 



367 



6th. Damp clayey soil incumbent on clay. 




Coarse siliceous gravel, 


. 


60 


Fine sand, 


. 


120 


Vegetable matter, destructible 


by fire. 


9 


Carbonate of lime, . 


. 


15 


Silica, or earth of flints. 


. 


130 


Alumina or pure clay. 


. 


48 


Oxide of iron. 


• 


10 



Soluble saline matter, with vegetable extract and gypsum, 8 

400 

The oak, elm, ash and hornbeam attain to gi-eater perfection 
here than any other kind of forest tree. The tulip tree 
[Liriodendron tulipifeni) grows freely on this soil when it is 
properly prepared by trenching. 



7th. Fertile peat moss, incumbent on clay or marl. 
Fine siliceous sand, .... 

Undecompounded vegetable fibre, 
Decomposing vegetable fibre. 
Silica, or impalpable earth of flints, 
Alumina, or pure matter of clay, 
Soluble matter, principally vegetable extract. 
Oxide of iron, . . . . 

Moisture and loss, ..... 



231 
13 
57 
50 
18 
4 
2 
25 

400 

This variety of peat soil when prepared for planting by draining 
off the superfluous moisture, with which it is found almost always 
saturated, is capable of growing very profitable trees, as the 
birch, poplar and willow. A piece of ground of this nature, 
prepared by cutting open drains at such distances from each 
other, as to leave a sufficient breadth or body of earth to 
retain a due proportion of moisture in dry weather, and yet 
prevent saturation of moisture in the wettest weather, was planted 
with a variety of trees. The trees above mentioned succeeded 
remarkably well, and made an improved return of a hundred per 



368 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



cent, in comparison to that afforded by the natural produce of 
the surface. The following variety of peat, which is not 
uncommon, is to be carefully distinguished from the above. 



8th. Inert peat soil. 

Fine pure siliceous sand. 

Inert vegetable matter destructible by fire, . 

Alumina, ...... 

Oxide of iron, ..... 

Soluble vegetable extractive matter, sulphate of 

and sulphate of potash, 
Sulphate of lime, ..... 

Loss and moisture, .... 



iron, 



29 

289 

14 

30 

11 
12 
15 

400 

The outward characters or appearance of this soil is so similar 
to those of the first mentioned variety of peat, that they are 
scarcely to be distinguished by common observation. The above 
soil, in its natural state, is absolutely sterile. Large applications 
of caustic lime and of common salt, in a smaller proportion, had 
the effect of improving the nature of this soil so much, as to 
render it capable of vegetating turnip seed, and of bringing the 
roots to the size of small turnips. It has not been proved, 
however, what the resuhs of planting forest trees might be on this 
soil, improved in the manner now stated. 



9th. Chalky soil, incumbent on chalk rock. 




Calcareous sand, ..... 


280 


Carbonate of lime, 


60 


Decomposing vegetable fibre, 


5 


Silica, . . . . ." . 


28 


Alumina, . . . . . 


10 


Oxide of iron, 


8 


Vegetable and saline soluble matters, 


4 


Moisture and loss, 


5 



400 



ARBORICULTURE. 369 

The beech, ash, and oak thrive belter on a soil of the above 
composition, than any of the resinous or fir species of trees. 

Of the above varieties of soils, if we except the sandy loam 
No. 3, and the clayey loam No. 5, there is not one which, on its 
natural site, could be profitably cultivated under corn or green 
crops, but which, by skilful planting, might be made to return 
considerable profits to the owners, and also to the public the many 
advantages which judicious planting always confers. 

Although there may be found shades of difference in the pro- 
portions of the constituents of soils receiving the same designa- 
tion, such, for instance, as the poor sandy soil, containing ten per 
cent, more or less of sand in one situation more than another, yet 
the actual produce of timber, all other circumstances being equal, 
will be found to vary but little, if any. But where the difference 
in the proportions of the ingredients is found so great as exists 
between the sandy loam No. 3, and the poor sandy soil No. 2, 
or, in a wood as between any two of the soils now attempted to 
be described from practical experience in their culture, as well 
as from a careful chemical examination of their properties and 
constitution, a very marked and decisive difference will be found 
in the comparative produce of timber, and the peculiar species or 
kinds of trees which should have been planted in the greatest 
number, or in preference to others. 



CHAP. IV. 

Of the most approved modes of preparing different 
Soils, for the Reception of Plants. 

In no improvement of landed property is economy in the 
first outlay of capital more essentially required than in forest 
planting. Want of attention to this important point has caused 
much loss to the country as well as to individuals, it having had 
the effect of discouraging forest planting generally, and more par- 
47 



370 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

ticularly of those lands emphatically termed wastes. The evil 
is perpetuated by statements confounding the expenses of plant- 
ing different descriptions of land, such as that of a superior soil 
immediately connected perhaps with a mansion, and that of a 
distant hill or waste heath. In the former case the return of 
produce is early, great, and fully ample for every expense judi- 
ciously incurred in the plantation ; while, at the same time, some- 
thing must be allowed for obtaining the more immediate orna- 
mental effect of wood. In the latter case the returns of profit 
are more distant, though equally certain, and the outlay of capi- 
tal or expense of formation proportionally less. To estimate or 
make them equal to those of the first description of land, would be 
absurd, because unnecessary, and, in fact, impracticable, as in the 
case of rocky sites or thin heath soils, where the more expensive 
processes of the preparations of soils cannot be carried into 
effect. 

Fencing is one of the most expensive but essential concomi- 
tants of planting ; for unless young trees are completely protect- 
ed by proper fences, extensive failure will be the certain conse- 
quence. 

Draining is essential wherever stagnant moisture prevails in 
the soil. Boggy lands and tenaceous clays are chiefly the soils 
which require it, for trees will thrive in a degree of moisture that 
would be highly hurtful to the nutritive grasses, and to corn 
crops. Under drains are of little service for forest trees, as their 
roots soon render these ineffective. In general, therefore, open 
cuts should be used. Where the excess of dam])ness is caused 
by springs, as in most bogs and morasses, it is essential to ascer- 
tain the source of the principal springs which feed the secondary 
ones, and their numerous outlets over the surface. Sub-aquatic 
plants, as the alder, rushes, Sic, often point out the spots where 
the search should be made, although these plants are frequently 
supported by stagnant surface water. Boring with the auger is 
the best mode of ascertaining the source of the spring, or at 
least that level of its course in the strata which conducts the water 
to the boggy land, and where it can be effectually cut off from 



ARBORICULTURE. 371 

supplying the secondary springs and outlets in the lower levels. 
When the source is ascertained, a drain should be cut to the depth 
of the strata through which it passes, so as to obstruct its progress. 
It should be made sufficiently deep, or the water will continue to 
pass under it, and the work will be useless. From this main 
drain formed across the declivity, other secondary drains should 
be made to conduct the water thus collected, from the source to 
the most convenient outlet. It would be incompatible whh the 
space of these pages to enter into details of this subject. Elkin- 
lon's mode of draining, as given in Johnstone's Treatise on the 
subject, is on the above principle, and shows with precision the 
advantages of it, and with how much facility lands, which by the 
old method of draining were considered incapable of being pro- 
fitably improved, may be made fit for planting and returning a 
valuable produce of timber. 

Clayey soils which are rendered barren by surface water stag- 
nating upon them, may be made to produce valuable timber by 
the simple process of constructing open drains, and forming the 
surface between these into ridges. 

On steep acclivities, rocky soils, and thin heath, or moor 
lands, incumbent on rock or shale, where ploughing or trenching 
is impracticable, a depth of pulverized soil cannot be obtained 
for the reception of the roots of trees of more than two, or at 
most three years' growth ; the mattock planter, diamond dibble, 
and spade, can be used with the best effect. To attempt any 
more expensive preparation on such lands, than may be made by 
these implements for the reception of the individual plants, would 
be injudicious. For the preparation of heath soils, incumbent on 
sand or loose gravel, an improved paring plough (Plate 110^ 
Fig. 9 and 10), which we call Fyshe Palmer's planting plough, 
is a valuable implement. 

The plough consists of two mold boards as in common use, but 
resting on a triangular and somewhat convex plate of iron 
(Fig. 9). This iron plate is furnished with sharp steel edges 
rivetted to it (Fig. 10, c). The fixed share (a, Fig. 10), 



372 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



^# 




which divides the turf for 
each side of the double 
moldboard, six inches high 
at the shoulder, with a 
sharp edge tapering to a 
point at (6). The sole of the 
plough is screwed and bolt- 
ed to the instrument by the 
bolt sockets (e), and the nut 
screw sockets (^d). The 
base of the triangular plate 
(/, Fig. 9) is twenty-one 
inches, with a curve of 
one inch, which facilitates 
the action of the instrument 
PLATE ex. when paring in gravelly or 

stoney ground. The whole length of the plate is thirty-five 
inches from the base (/) to the point of the share (6). Wherever 
the land is of a moderately level surface, and when paring is de- 
sirable, this plough will be found a valuable Implement. The 
whole surface may be pared as in clayey soils, where burning tlie 
turf is essential ; or spaces of twenty-one inches, as in heath 
soils, may be pared off with intervals of thirteen inches, on which 
the reversed turf may rest to decay, and become food for the 
roots of the trees. When the soil is of sufficient depth to allow 
of trenching, the common plough, following the track of the par- 
ing plough, will effect this object at a comparatively small ex- 
pense. 

Much difference of opinion prevails on the comparative advan- 
tages and disadvantages of trenching ground for forest trees ; 
nothing is more certain than that trenching and manuring is more 
advantageous to the trees than holing, or any other mode of pre- 
paration. But there are certain soils which will produce valuable 
timber, and that cannot be ploughed or trenched ; these have 
already been mentioned : there are others which are capable of 
receiving benefit from this mode of preparation, but where it 
would be inexpedient to bestow it. There is one instance in 



ARBORICULTUKE. 373 

which trenching cannot on any account be dispensed with, which 
is that of ground near a mansion, where the value of trees in re- 
spect to landscape effect, shelter, shade, concealment and the 
improvement of local climate, have equal if not superior claims 
to that of the actual value of the timber produced by the indivi- 
dual trees of the plantation. As many local circumstances inter- 
fere with the performance of these different processes, as the 
comparative cheapness of labor, of manure, the facility of obtain- 
ing the most proper sized plants, to anticipate two or three years' 
earlier return of produce, &;c., it would be of little use here to 
give any calculations of expense and profits, as data by which to 
estimate the results of either mode of practice, that would be 
applicable to every soil and site alluded to. Where the local de- 
mand for the smaller-sized products of plantations are great, the 
more expensive process of trenching should be adopted, inasmuch 
as the growth of forest trees to the size of poles, and of materials for 
fencing, &ic., is highly promoted by trenching and manuring, and 
the returns of profits from these products of planting are in propor- 
tion earlier and larger. That this superiority extends in the same 
proportion to the ultimate produce of timber in trees, may not 
appear so clear, because it may be urged by those who under- 
value trenching and manuring as preparation of the soil for plant- 
ing forest trees, and there are no satis'factory records of the com- 
parative rate of increase of timber, or of solid vegetable fibre, 
after the first twenty or thirty years' growth of the different species 
of forest trees, which have been planted on trenched and manured 
grounds, and the contrary, being under all other circumstances 
the same until their last stage of perfection ; and yet the truth of 
such continued superiority of increase, is the only test by which 
the question can be decided, and an unerring rule of practice be 
obtained. The results of mere observation, or conclusions drawn 
from the apparent contents of trees, will not be found to warrant 
the adoption of any new mode of practice. But the comparative 
increase and ultimate produce of timber should be ascertained up 
to the period of the trees attaining to perfect maturity in the most 
satisfactory manner, by actual admeasurement ; and correct 
records kept of the age of the trees, comparative value of the 



374 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

plants when planted as to their size, roots, and constitutional vigor 
at the time of planting; as also the intimate nature of the soil, 
subsoil and local climate. In the oak, after the first fifty or sixty 
years' growth, the annual rate of increase of the diameter dimin- 
ishes greatly. 

In order to have at all times the most convenient as well as the 
most pleasant access to the interior of the plantation, rides or 
broad drives should be marked out and left unplanted. 



CHAP. V. 

Of the Culture of Plantations. 

The judicious culture of plantations is a point of the last im- 
portance to secure a full return of profits from the capital expend- 
ed in their formation, as well as for every other advantage that 
judicious planting confers ; for let the care and skill employed in 
their formation have been ever so great, if the proper culture be 
not continued from the period of planting to maturity of growth, 
disappointment in obtaining the effects of wood, and loss of profits 
will be the certain results. The numerous instances to be seen 
almost every where of the bad effects resulting from the neglect 
of judicious pruning and thinning of the trees of plantations, and 
the great loss caused thereby to the proprietors, evince fully the 
importance of this branch of the subject, which embraces the fol- 
lowing points: — 1st. Culture of the soil. 2d. Pruning, 3d. 
Thinning. 

First. The culture of a trenched soil of a newly formed plan- 
tation, consists in keeping the surface clean of weeds until the 
shade of the trees prevents their growth. It is true that these 
weeds take a portion of nourishment from the soil, but from what 
was before stated regarding the food supplied to the plants by the 
soil, it is clear that the growth of herbaceous weeds can injure 
but little, if in any degree, the growth of forest trees. When 



ARBOKICULTURE. 375 

the trees are young and of a small size, however, the mechanical 
effects of these weeds are extremely hurtful when they are 
suffered to grow and mingle their shoots with the lower branches 
of the young trees, by obstructing the free circulation of air, and 
preventing the genial influence of the solar rays from reaching to 
their tender shoots, and this is evident to common observation in 
the decay or death of the branches subjected to contact with 
them, and in the consequent unhealthy appearance of the leading 
shoot of the tree. 

Hoeing the surface as often as may be required to prevent 
perennial weeds from forming perfect leaves and new roots, and 
annual ones from perfecting seeds, is all that is required. Two 
seasons of strict adherence to this rule, even in the worst cases, 
will render the labor or expense of future years comparatively 
trifling, and the healthy progress of the trees will reward the care 
and attention. 

On soils planted by the slit, or holing-in mode of planting, it is 
essentially necessary to prevent the natural herbage of the soil 
from mingling with the lateral branches of the young tree. An 
active workman with a steel mattock hoe will clean round the 
plants on a large space of ground in a day. Summer is the best 
season for the work, as the weeds are more effectually destroyed, 
and the partial stirring of the soil about the roots of such plants- 
as require cleaning benefits their growth. 

Should the planting and culture now described have been 
faithfully executed, there will be few failures. When these 
happen, however, the vacancies must be filled up, at the proper 
season, with stout plants, and the holes be properly prepared for 
the reception of the roots. It is a good practice for the first 
two or three years of a trenched plantation to take a crop of 
potatoes, mangel wurzel, or carrots, according to circumstances. 
The rule, which must be strictly adhered to in the introduction 
of these crops, is, that no part of the foliage or tops of the green 
crop touch or even approximate near to the young trees ; a rule 
of practice which, if broken through, produces equal damage as 
from a rampart crop of weeds to the plantation. 




376 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

Second. There are three different kinds or modes of pruning, 
which, in practice, have been named close pruning (a, Plate 111). 
Snag pruning (6), and foreshortening (c). 

By leaving a snag (b) of the branch, 
it in time forms a blemish in the timber, 
in consequence of young wood forming 
round the stump, and embedding it in 
the tree. Snag pruning is the most 
rude and injudicious mode that can be 
practised, being invariably attended 
with injury to the quality of the timber : 

PLATE CXI. .1,1 1 I 1 1 

It should never be adopted under any 
circumstances whatever. Close pruning (a) is performed by 
sawing or cutting off a branch close to its parent stem or primary 
leading branch (c). This is the only mode to be adopted in 
training, or rather improving, the stem or bole of a tree, or 
wherever it is desirable that no reproduction of branches from 
the point should follow. The most perfect manner of executing 
the work is to saw the branch off close to the parent stem, and 
smooth any roughness that may be left on the surface of the 
wound with a sharp knife, taking care not to reduce the edges of 
the bark which surround the wound more than is actually necessary 
to remove the lacerated surface. To- prevent the action of air 
and moisture on the naked wood, a dressing should be applied, 
composed of ingredients that will adhere to the spot, and resist 
the action of drought and rain. Three parts of cow dung and 
one of sifted lime will be found a very effective substitute for the 
more compound dressing of Forsyth. The dressing should be 
laid on one quarter of an inch in thickness, or more when the 
wound is large : when rendered smooth and firmly pressed to 
the part, powdered lime should be thrown over the surface, and 
pressed into it by the flat side of the pruning knife, or a spatula. 
The bark will sooner cover the wound when protected from the 
influence of the weather by this or by any similar means, than 
when left naked and exposed. 

In general forest pruning this process is unnecessary, or rather 
the benefit is not sufficiently great to warrant its cost ; but for 



ARBOKICULTURE. 377 

particular trees connected with ornamental effects it is well worth 
the trouble. 

Fore-shortening pruning (c) is the only one that can be usefully 
practised in reducing the size of lateral branches. When these 
become too crowded, or when particular ones assume a dispro- 
portionate vigor of growth and increase, it is highly useful to 
reduce the number or size of such over-luxuriant branches. The 
chief point to be attended to in the operation is that of dividing 
the branch at a point from whence a healthy secondary branchlet 
springs, that it may become the leader to that branch. When 
the shoot is of one year's growth only, and has no lateral shoots, 
as in stone fruits trained on walls, the division is made near to a 
strong healthy bud, which will become the conducting shoot. 

For young forest trees which require the branches to be 
regulated and balanced, so that one side may not have a 
disproportionate number or weight of branches to the other, and 
for trees in hedge rows whose lateral branches extend too far on 
either side, injuring the quick fence or the crops of the field, 
foreshortening is the most useful mode of pruning. 

For non-reproductive trees, such as all the different species 
of the pine or fir tribe, this mode of pruning is improper, 
as the branch thus shortened does not produce a second 
shoot, but remains with all the objectionable properties of a snag, 
to the great injury, in time, of the quality of the timber. Where 
the purposes of evergreen masks, near the ground, in the margins 
of plantations are desirable, the foi'eshortening of the leading 
shoots of spruce firs, etc., is highly useful, as these trees do not 
afterwards increase in height, but only extend laterally by thin 
side branches. 

— "'■"' : '^'^^ "^°^* effectual pruning 

^^ instruments are a strong knife, 

ly hook, saw and chisel. For 

' pruning elevated branches a small 

saw firmly fixed to a long handle 

is highly useful (Plate 113, a) ; a chisel, likewise furnished with 

a long handle (6), and driven by a hand mallet, is very effective 

48 



378 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

in taking off branches close to the stem or bole, in circumstances 
where the saw cannot be freely used from the upright direction 
of the branch, or the situation of the adjoining branches. Such 
are the manuals of forest pruning. It may be justly said that in 
no one process of the culture of forest trees is a just knowledge 
of vegetable physiology, or that of the structure and functions of 
the organs of vegetable life of more importance than in this one 
of pruning, which directly and especially applies to the assisting 
and directing, as well as the checking, of these functions in the 
production of wood as in forest trees, and in that as well as of 
flowers and fruit in garden trees. 

A timber tree, as before observed, is valued for the length, 

straightness, and solidity of its stem. Judicious pruning tends 

greatly to assist nature in the formation of the stem in this perfect 

state. In natural forests, boles or stems possessing properties of 

the most valuable kind are found, where no pruning, trenching, 

or any other process of culture ever was applied to the rearing 

of the trees. It should not, however, be concluded from this 

circumstance that these processes are of little value. If we 

examine the growth of trees, when left to the unassisted efforts of 

nature by the neglect of pruning and thinning, we find that but a 

small number only, on any given space of planted ground, attain 

to perfect maturity, compared to those which never arrive at any 

value but for fuel. The like results, though varying according 

to local advantages, are exhibited in the produce of self-planted 

forests. Hence, instead of an average of two or three perfect 

trees on any given space (suppose an acre) left by the unassisted 

efforts of nature, we shall have from forty to three hundred 

perfect trees, according to the species of timber, by the judicious 

application of art in the preparation of the soil and the after 

culture of the trees, and probably on soils, too, which, without 

such assistance, could never have reared a single tree. 

But though judicious pruning greatly assists in the production 
of a tall, straight bole, free from blemish, yet unless those 
circumstances before mentioned are favorable, as a vigorous, 
healthy constitution of the plant in its seedling stage of growth, 
transplantation to its timber sites at a proper age, and a soil 



ARBORICULTURE. 379 

suitably prepared and adapted to the species of tree, pruning will 
be found but of small efficacy. 

It was supposed that when branches are taken from a tree, so 
many organs of waste are cut off; and it has been practically 
insisted upon that, by the removal of large branches, the supply 
of sap and nourishment which went to their support would go to 
a proportionate increase of the stem. From what has already 
been stated respecting the course and movement of the sap, it 
may be unnecessary to add that this opinion is erroneous in 
principle, and that when a branch is cut off a portion of nourish- 
ment to the stem is cut off also specifically from that part of it 
which lies between the origin of the branch and the root, 
downwards to the root. Every branch of a tree, of whatever 
size it may be, not only draws nourishment and increase of 
substance from that part of the stem which stands under it, and 
from the roots, but also supplies these with a due proportion of 
nourishment in return, and by which their substance is increased. 
If the branch, whether large or small, acted merely as a drain on 
the vessels of the stem, and that the sap it derived from it was 
elevated to the leaves of the branch, and from thence returned 
no farther than to the origin or point of its union with the stem, 
then the above opinion would be correct : on the contrary, 
however, when it is found that the existence and increase of 
every twig, branch and leaf, depends on a communication with 
the root, and that this communication passes through the stem 
downwards to. that organ, and from it upwards periodically, and, 
moreover, that every periodical series of new vessels thus formed 
in the branch has a corresponding series of vessels formed in the 
stem from its point of emitting the branch to the root, it is clear 
that a branch not only increases in substance by the functions of 
its own organization, but must, of a necessity, periodically 
increase the substance or diameter of the trunk. 

The results of. practice agree with this ; for if an overgrown 
limb or branch of a free-growing tree be pruned off, the annual 
increase of the diameter of the stem is not found to exceed its 
previous rate of increase ; or the excess, if any, is not equal to 



^ 



380 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

the contents of wood which had been periodically formed by the 
branch or branches thus separated from the stem. 

When branches are not allowed to perfect one year's growth, 
but are pruned off annually within a htid or two of their origin 
with the stem, they act rather as organs of waste than those of 
increase of wood to the stem. But although the rate of periodical 
increase of the diameter of a tree be thus lessened, in a certain 
extent, by the loss of a full-grown lateral branch, yet the increase 
of the stem in height or length is not thereby retarded, the ligneous 
vessels of the root corresponding with those of the stem or wood, 
probably act with but little diminished force in sending up 
sap to the higher extremities of the tree. 

It is of great importance that branches which indicate an over- 
luxuriant growth should never be suffered to become large, or to 
exceed the medium size of the majorit}^ of the boughs of the 
tree, but should be pruned off close to the stem when the general 
interests of the plant will admit of it. These over-luxuriant 
branches, which, when suffered to take the lead in growth of the 
general boughs, become so hurtful to the perfection of growth of 
the stem, are evidently produced and supported by the accidental 
circumstance of a superior portion of soil being in the wav of, 
and into which the roots immediately connected with these 
boughs penetrate and afterwards keep possession. By taking- 
off such branches early, therefore, the extra supply of nourishment 
afforded by such local circumstance of soil is directed to the stem 
and useful lateral branches. 

By depriving a tree, to a certain extent, of its side branches, 
the growth of the stem in length is promoted, but the diameter, 
strength, or thickness of it is not increased in the same proportion. 
When the side branches are destroyed by natural causes, or by 
the neglect of judicious thinning, the like injurious effects ensue 
to the primary object here in view, that of obtaining the largest 
quantity of timber of the best quality on a given space of land. 

When the lateral branches perish or cease to be produced 
except towards the top of the tree, from the want of pure air and 
of the vital influence of the solar rays on the foliage, the existence 
of the tree may continue for years, but the produce or increase 







ARB OKI CULTURE. 381 

of timber of any value ceases, and, it dies prematurely, affording 
at last a produce comparatively of no value, after having obstructed 
the profitable and healthy growth of the adjoining trees during 
its latter unprofitable stages of life. In the contest for the 
l^reservation of existence which takes place after a certain period 
of growth among the individual trees of a plantation which has 
been neglected, or left without the aid of judicious priming or 
thinning, there will be found trees which, from the accidental 
circumstance of having originally a vigorous, healthy constitution, 
and from partially escaping the numerous injuries and obstructions 
of growth that accrue to trees by neglect of culture, have attained 
to a valuable timber size. The timber of the iew such trees, 
however, as have thus gained the supremacy, is frequently much 
blemished by the stumps of the dead branches having become 
imbedded in the wood ; and this serious injury to the quality of 
the timber and value of the tree, is the invariable consequence of 
neglecting to prune off these stumps as soon as they appear, or 
rather neglecting to cut away close to the stem such branches as 
indicate decay, and before they cease growing. 

The time at which pruning should begin, depends entirely on 
the growth of the young trees. In some instances of favorable 
soil and quick growth of the plants, branches will be found in the 
course of four or five years to require foreshortening, and in 
case of the formation of forked leaders, to be pruned oft' close to 
the stem. When the lateral branches of different trees interfere 
with each other's growth, pruning, so as to foreshorten, should 
be freely applied in every case, in order to prevent the stagnation 
of air among the branches, or the undue preponderance of 
branches on one side af the tree. Perfect culture, in this respect, 
requires that the plantation should be examined every year, and 
by keeping the trees thus in perfect order there will never be 
any danger of making too great an opening, or depriving a tree 
too suddenly of a large proportion of branches. The operation 
will also be so much more quickly performed, as to render the 
expense of management less than if the pruning were delayed, 
or only performed at intervals of years, as is too frequently 
practised. By this management there will be little, if any. 



382 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

necessity for pruning close to the stem, until the tree attain to 
twenty feet in height, or even more than" that, provided the stem 
be clear of lateral branches from five to eight feet from the root. 
When the lateral branches are regular and moderately large, the 
smaller length of clear stem may be adopted, and w^here the 
branches are larger towards the top, tlje greater space of close 
pruning. Five years from the first close pruning will not be too 
long before the second is performed ; one, or at most, two tire 
of branches may then be displaced in like manner. The increase 
of diameter of the stem, is the only certain test for deciding 
whether the larger or smaller number of branches may be pruned 
off to most advantage, or whether it may be prudent to take any 
away from the stem until it attain greater strength and thickness. 
By examining the trees of a plantation annually, the critical time 
for pruning every branch for the best interest of the trees is 
secured. Some trees may be pruned with great advantage 
successively for years, while others may only require it every 
three or five years, and others again not at all. 

It has been disputed whether resinous or non-reproductive 
trees are benefitted by pruning ; but the value of judicious close 
pruning to that tribe of trees cannot be doubted : at the same 
time it is but too true that, in numerous instances, it has been 
carried to a mischievous excess. Young firs and larch trees, 
when deprived of their lateral branches, to within four or five 
tire of shoots of the top, are frequently seriously injured by the 
winds acting on the tuft of branches, which become as a lever 
loosening the roots, and producing all the evils of a suddenly 
checked growth, besides those of excessive bleeding or loss of 
the resinous sap, and the want of the periodical supply of nour- 
ishment to the stem afforded by these branches. At sixteen 
years' growth, larches standing at four feet apart, will be 
benefited by moderate pruning, that is, of two or three tire of 
the lowermost branches, particularly should these appear to be 
decreasing in their former vigor of growth ; and afterwards in 
every third or fourth year, successively, the like treatment should 
be adopted to these lowermost branches evincing a decline of 
healthy growth. The same rule applies to the pine and the spruce ; 



ARBORICULTURE. 383 

but the former, having large and compound branches, should be 
pruned at an earlier age than the latter, or before the lateral 
shoots are more than two inches in diameter. When the branch 
to be taken off is several inches in diameter, the wound is so 
large, the excavation of resinous sap so great, and the heart wood, 
or the vessels which constitute it, so indurated, as to render the 
perfect union of the new and the old wood less certain than in 
young branches, ail which make the removal of large branches 
productive of more evil than service to the growth of the tree 
and quality of the timber. On the contrary, when the pruning 
of the pine is altogether neglected, and the dead or rotten stumps 
or snags of branches are left to be imbedded in the wood, or to 
form cavities for the accumulation of water or other extraneous 
matters in the substance of the stem, all the purposes of profit 
and of pleasure are sacrificed to neglect or unskilful culture. 

Judicious thinning may be said to be productive of the same 
valuable effects to a plantation of timber trees in the aggregate, 
as those which judicious pruning produces on every individual 
tree composing it : by the admission of a proper circulation of 
air and the solar rays, and permitting the free expansion of the 
essential lateral branches of the trees, as well as by preventing 
an unnecessary waste or exhaustion of the soil by the roots of all 
supernumerary trees. 

The great advantages of judicious thinning are not confined to 
the object of obtaining the largest quantity of timber of the best 
quality on a given space of land in the shortest space of time ; 
but the produce of the trees thus thinned out ought to afford a 
return sufficient to pay the expenses of culture, interest of capital, 
and the value of the rent of the land. In many instances the 
profits arising from the thinnings of well ' managed woods have 
covered these charges before the period of twenty years from the 
time of planting. The time at which the process of thinning 
should be commenced, depends on the like causes as those 
which regulate pruning, and need not here be repeated. 

In general the freest growing plantations require to have a 
certain number of trees taken out by the time they have attained 
to eight years of growth from planting. On forest-tree soils of a 



384 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

medium quality, the age often or twelve years may be attained 
by the young trees before thinning is necessary ; but should 
fifteen years elapse before the trees demand thinning, it will be 
found that the plantation has been imperfectly formed. 

No certain rule can be given to determine the number of trees 
to be thinned out periodically, which will apply to all plantations 
and to every kind of forest tree in them. A well-grounded 
knowledge of the principles of vegetable physiology, and of the 
habits of trees, is absolutely essential, to execute with success this 
very important branch of arboriculture. 

The proper season for cutting down timber trees is that in 
.which the sap is most quiescent, viz., midwinter and midsummer; 
but particularly the former. Trees whose bark is valuable 
require to be felled before the complete expansion of the leaf. 
From the last of April to the end of June is the proper time 
for the oak ; the larch should be peeled ealier. The birch 
having a tough outer cuticle of no use to the tanner, and as this 
is more easily separated from the proper bark after the sap has 
partially circulated in the leaves, it is generally left standing until 
the other species of trees are felled and barked. 

The process of barking is, in general, well understood. The 
harvesting of the bark is of the greatest importance, for if it be 
suffered to heat or ferment, it loses its color, becomes mouldy 
and of little value. The best mode is to make what the foresters 
term temporary lofts of about two feet in width, and of a length 
sufficient to hold a day's peeling of bark. These lofts are formed 
by driving forked stakes into the ground for bearers, about three 
feet in height in the back row, and two and a half feet in the 
front; a sloping floor is then constructed by laying loppings 
between the forks of the bearers. The bark is then placed on 
the sloping floor with the thick ends towards the top or higher 
side, the smaller bark is laid on to the depth of six or ten inches, 
and the broad pieces placed over the whole as a covering to 
carry off the wet, should rain happen before the bark is sufficiently 
dry to be stacked. In three or four days it should be turned to 
prevent heating or moulding, and in ten days, more or less, it 
will be sufficiently dry to be stacked until wanted for the tanner. 



APPENDIX. 385 

In order to prevent fermenting when stacked, the width of the 
pile should not exceed eight feet. The roof should be formed 
and thatched as a corn or hay stack. 

The most judicious mode of felling forest trees is by grubbing 
up, or taking the solid part of the root with the bole, in every 
case where coppice stools are not wanted, for the expense of 
taking up the roots afterwards when either planting or tillage may 
be demanded on the sites of the felled trees, will be found to 
exceed that of taking up the root with the stem in the first 
instance, besides the injury to the immediate fertility of the soil 
by the introduction of fungi and insects, the first agents generally 
of decomposition of the roots of felled trees which do not stole 
or reproduce shoots. Besides the advantages now alluded to, 
there is another, that of the value of the solid part of the roots of 
trees. The peculiar structure of many roots afford the best 
materials for what is termed ornamental rustic work j and also 
the compact texture of the wood, and the diversified lines of the 
medullary rays and concentric circles, fit it for the manufacture 
of very interesting cabinet works. 



APPENDIX. 



The table on the succeeding pages shows the result of 
experiments for determining the comparative quantities of heat 
evolved in combustion of the principal varieties of wood used for 
fuel in the United States, by Marcus Bull, and read by him 
before the American Philosophical Society in April, 1826. 
49 



386 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



Names of Woods. 



Acer pseudo platanus, 
Acer rubrum, 
Acer saccharinum, 
Aronia arborea, 
Betula lenta, 
Betula populifolia, 
Carpinus americana, 
Castanea vesca, 
Cerasus virginiana, 
Cornus florida, 
Diospyros virginiana, 
Fagus sylvestris, 
Fraxinus americana, 
Hantamelis virgiiiica, 
Ilex opaca, 
Juglans catliartica, 
Juglans laciniosa, 
Juglans nigra, 
Juglans porcina, 
Juglans squamosa, 
Kalmia latifolia, 
Laurus sassafras, 
Liquidambar styraciilua, 
Lyriodendron tulipifera, 
Magnolia grandiflora, 
Nyssa sylvatica, 
Pinus inops, 
Pinus niitis, 
Pinus rigida, 
Pinus strobus, 
Populus dilatata, 
Pyrus malus, 
Quercus alba, 
Q,uercus banisteri, 
Q,uercus catesbsei, 
duercus falcata, 
Quercus ferruginea, 
duercus obtusiloba, 
duercus palustris, 
duercus prinus acuminata, 
duercus prinus monticola, 
duercus prinus palustris, 
duercus rubra, 
Ulmus americana, 
Vacinium corymbosum, 



European Sijcamorc, 

Ked-Fhweriiig Mayle, 

Sugar Maple, 

Wild Service, 

Black Birch, 

White Birch, 

American Hornbeam, 

American Chesnut, 

Wild Cherry, 

Dog Wood, 

Persimon, 

White Beech, 

White Ash, 

Witch Hazel, ■ 

American Ilollii, 

Butternut, 

Thick Shcilbarlc Hickory, 

Black Walnut, 

Pignut Hickory, 

Shellbark Hickory, 

Blomifain Laurel, 

Sassafras, 

Sweet Gum, 

Poplar or Tulip Tree, 

Big Laurel, 

Black Gum, 

Jersey Pine, 

Yellow Pine, 

Pitch Pine, 

White Pine, 

Lombardy Poplar, 

Apple Tree, 

White Oak, 

Bear Oak, 

Barrens Scrub Oak, 

Spanish Oak, 

Black Jack Oak, 

Post Oak, 

Pin Oak, 

Yellow Oak, 

Rock Chesnut Oak, 

Chesnut White Oak, 

Red Oak, 

White Elm, 

Swamp Whortleberry, 



Specific 
gravity of 
dry woods. 


puis lbs. 

of dry 

wood in 

one cord 


.535 


2391 


.597 


2068 


.644 


2S7S 


.887 


3964 


.097 


3115 


.530 


2369 


.720 


3218 


.522 


2333 


.597 


2668 


.815 


3043 


.711 


3178 


.724 


3236 


.722 


3450 


.784 


3505 


.602 


2691 


.507 


2534 


.829 


3705 


.681 


3044 


.949 


4241 


1.000 


4469 


.603 


2963 


.618 


2762 


.034 


2834 


.503 


2516 


.005 


2704 


.703 


3142 


.478 


2137 


.551 


2463 


,426 


1904 


,418 


1868 


.397 


1774 


.697 


3115 


.855 


3821 


.728 


3254 


.747 


3339 


.548 


2449 


.694 


3102 


.775 


3464 


.747 


3339 


.653 


2919 


.678 


3030 


.885 


3955 


.728 


2254 


.580 


2592 


.752 


3361 



APP£Ni>lX. 



387 



Product of char- 
coal from 100 p;\rts 
of (iry wootl by 
weiijlit. 


Specific gravity 
oi dry coals. 


Pounds of ilry 
coal in one 
buslici. 


Pomi.lsofchiir- 
coiU troKi one 
cord of dry 
wood. 


nushois (.r 

ch^coal froii 
one cord of 
dry «OL«l. 


Time 10" of lieut Value of specified 
were inainlained quajiiities of each 
ill tlic roniii by article, compared 
Uie cuiiihiistiun of witli shellbark 
(i!ic ill. of eacli hickory as tlio 
ariiclc, fiiaridard. 












ti m 


cord. 


23.60 


.374 


19.68 


564 


29 


30 


52 


20.64 


.370 


19.47 


551 


28 


6 00 


54 


21.43 


.431 


22.68 


617 


27 


6 10 


60 


22.62 


.594 


31.26 


897 


29 


6 20 


84 


19.40 


.428 


22.52 


604 


27 


6 00 


63 


19.00 


.364 


19.15 


450 


24 


6 00 


48 


19.00 


.455 


23.94 


611 


25 


6 00 


65 


25.29 


.379 


19.94 


590 


30 


6 40 


52 


21.70 


.411 


21.63 


579 


27 


6 10 


55 


21.00 


.550 


28.94 


765 


26 


10 


75 


23.44 


.409 


24.68 


745 


30 


6 30 


69 


19.62 


.518 


27.28 


635 


23 


6 00 


65 ■ 


25.74 


.547 


23.78 


888 


31 


6 40 


77 


21.40 


.368 


19.36 


750 


39 


6 10 


72 


22.77 


.374 


19.68 


613 


31 


6 20 


57 


20.79 


.237 


12.47 


527 


42 


6 00 


51 


22.90 


.509 


20.78 


848 


32 


6 30 


81 


22.56 


.418 


22.00 


687 


31 


6 20 


65 


25.22 


.637 


33.52 


1070 


32 


6 40 


95 


20.22 


.625 


32.89 


1172 


36 


6 40 


100 


24.02 


.457 


24.05 


712 


30 


6 40 


66 


22.58 


.427 


22.47 


624 


28 


6 20 


59 


19.69 


.413 


21.73 


558 


20 


6 00 


57 


21.81 


.383 


20.15 


549 


27 


6 10 


52 


21.59 


.406 


21.36 


584 


27 


6 10 


56 


22.16 


.400 


21.05 


696 


33 


6 20 


67 


24.88 


.385 


20.26 


532 


26 


6 40 


48 


23.75 


.333 


17.52 


585 


33 


6 30 


54 


26.76 


.298 


15.68 


510 


33 


6 40 


43 


24.35 


.293 


15.42 


455 


30 


6 40 


42 


25.00 


.245 


12.89 


444 


34 


6 40 


40 


25.00 


.445 


23.41 


779 


33 


6 40 


70 


21.62 


.401 


21.10 


826 


39 


6 20 


81 


23.80 


. .387 


20.36 


774 


38 ■ 


6 30 


71 


23.17 


.392 


20.63 


774 


38 


6 30 


73 


22.95 


.362 


19.05 


562 


30 


6 20 


52 


22.37 


.447 


23.52 


694 


29 


6 20 


66 


21.50 


.437 


22.99 


745 


32 


6 20 


74 


22.22 


.436 


22.94 


742 


32 


6 20 


71 


21.60 


.295 


15.52 


631 


41 


6 10 


60 


20.86 


.436 


22.94 


633 


28 


6 00 


61 


22.76 


.481 


25.31 


900 


36 


6 30 


86 


22.43 


.400 


21.05 


630 


30 


6 20 


69 


24.85 


.357 


18.79 


644 


34 


6 40 


58 


23.30 


.505 


26.57 


783 


29 


6 30 


73 



GLOSSARY. 



Abrupt leaf, A pinnate leaf which has 

not an odd or terminal leaflet. 
Acotyledonous, Having no cotyledons 

or seed lobes ; as ferns. 
Acrimonious, Sharps bitter; corrosive; 

pungent. 
Acuminate, Abruptly sharp pointed, 

the point curved towards one edge 

of the leaf 
Acute, More gradually sharp pointed 

than acuminate. 
Aggregate flowers, Those seated on 

the same receptacle or inclosed in 

the same calyx without the anthers 

being united. 
Albumen, The white of an egg. A like 

substance is a chief constituent in all 

animal solids. 
Alburnum, The white and softer part 

of wood, between the inner bark 

and the heart wood ; the sap wood. 
Anient, Flowers collected on chafty 

scales, and arranged on a thread or 

slender stalk ; as in the chesnut and 

willow. 
Angular, Forming angles ; when the 

stems, calyxes, capsules, etc., have 

ridges running lengthwise. 
Annual, Living but one year, during 

which it produces flower and seed. 
Animalcule, A little animal, invisible 

to the naked eye. 
Anodyne, Assuaging pain ; causing 

sleep or insensibility. 
Anomalous, Whatever forms an excep- 
tion to general rules. 
Anther, That part of the stamen which 

contains the pollen. 
^reiiscoriiMtJc, Counteracting the scurvy. 
Antiscorbutics, Substances which cure 

eruptions. 
Antiseptic, Opposing or counteracting 

putrefaction. 
Antispasmodic, Opposing spasm ; as 

anodynes. 
Aperient, Opening; laxative. 



Apetalous, A flower without petals. 

Apex, The end, or point. 

Aquatic. Growing in or near water. 

Arboriculture, The art of rearing trees. 

Arid, Dry and rough. 

Aril, An outer covering of some seeds, 

which in ripening falls oft'. 
Armed, Having thorns or prickles. 
Aromatic, Sweet scented. 
Articulated, Jointed. 
Arundinaceus, Resembling reeds or 

stiff large grass. 
Assimilation, The process by which 

bodies convert other bodies into their 

own nature. 
Astringent, Binding; contracting; 

strengthening. 
Astringents, Substances which con- 

dense the fibres. 
Axil, The angle between a leaf and 

stem on the upper side. 
Axillary, Growing out of the axils. 

Barb, A straight process armed with 

teeth pointing backwards. 
Barren, Producing no fruit; containing 

stamens only. 
Berry, A pulpy pericarp enclosing 

seeds without capsules. 
Biennial, Living two years, in the 

second of which the flower and fruit 

is produced ; as in wheat. 
Bole, The stem, trunk or body of a 

tree, after it has attained to upwards 

of eight inches in diameter, or to 

that size which constitutes timber. 
Border, The brim or spreading part of 

a corolla. 
Bottom, A low ground ; a dale ; a 

valley : applied in the United States 

to the flat lands adjoining rivers, etc. 
Branch, A division of the main stem, 

or main root. [twig. 

Branchlet, Subdivision of a branch; a 
Bud, The residence of the infant leaf 

and flower. 



APPENDIX. 



389 



Bulbs, Called roots, sometimes found 
growing on the stem ; strictly speak- 

• ing bulbs are buds, or the winter 
residence of the future plants. 

Bush, In gardening and planting, ap- 
plies exclusively to every perennial 
ligneous plant (mostly with several 
stems from its root), which in its 
natural state seldom attains to a 
timber size, that is, having a stem 
girting six inches. We understand 
currant bush, goosberry bush, rose 
bush, holly bush, laurel bush, etc., 
but never oak, elm or ash-bush, etc. 
The limits between a shrub or bush 
and a tree cannot be more precisely 
defined than by the girt or diameter 
of the stem, under ordinary circum- 
stances of culture, never attaining to, 
or exceeding the above dimensions. 

But end, That portion of the stem of 
a tree which is situated nearest to 
the root. 

Calcareous, Containing lime, applied 
to shells of oysters, etc. 

Caloric, Heat. 

Calyx, Outer covering of the flower. 

Cambium, Gelatinous substance be- 
tween the wood and bark. 

Capillary, Hair- form. 

Capsule, A little chest ; that kind of 
hollow seed vessel which becomes 
dry and opens when ripe ; a capsule 
that never opens is called a samara. 

Carbon, Pure charcoal. 

Cathartic, Purging; cleansing thebow- 
els ; promoting evacuations by stools; 
purgative. 

Catkin, See Ament. 

Caudex, The main body of a tree or 
root. 

Cell, The hollow part of a pericarp or 
anther ; each cavity in a pericarp 
that contains one or more seeds is 
called a cell. According to the 
number of these cells the pericarp is 
one-celled, two-celled, three-celled, 
etc. 

Cellular, Made up of little cells or 
cavities. 

Cephalic, Pertaining to the head. 

Channelled, Hollowed out longitudi- 
nally, with a rounded groove. 

Cicatrize, To heal, or skm over. 

Cion, scion. Properly a shoot one or 
two years old, or a cutting of a 
branch of that age for the purpose 
of grafting. Used sometimes to de- 
note the shoots of a coppice stool. 

Class, The highest division of plants 



in the system of Botany. Linna;ua 
divided til plants into 24 classes, 
3 of these arc now rejected, and the 
plants which they included placed 
in the remaining 21 classes. 

Cleft, split or divided less than halfway. 

Colored, Different from green ; in the 
language of botany, green in the 
vegetable is not called a color. 
White, which in reality is not a 
color, is so called in botany. 

Common, Any part is common, which 
includes or sustains several parts 
similar among themselves. 

Compound^ Made up of similar simple 
parts. 

Compressed, Flattened. 

Concave, Hollowed on one side. 

Concentric, Having a common centre. 

Cone, A scaly fruit like that of the 
pine. 

Coniferous, Bearing cones. 

Contorted, Twisted. 

Contracted, Close ; narrow. 

Converging, Approaching or bending 
towards each other. 

Convex, Swelling out in a roundish 
form. 

Convolute, Rolled into a cylindrical 
form, as leaves in the bud. 

Coopers' icare. The lower ends of 
oak, hickory and ash poles cut from 
six to eighteen feet long, accordin"- 
to the length of the shoot. They 
arc cleft for the use of the cooper 
waggon-tilts, etc. >. 

Corculum or Corcle, The embryo or 
miniature of the future plant, which 
is found in seeds often between 
the cotyledons. 

Cordiform, Heart-shaped. 

Cordate, Heart-shaped, side lobea 
rounded. 

Coriaceous, Resembling leather ; thick 

■ and parchment-like. 

Corolla, (A word derived from corona, 
a crown,) usually incloses the sta- 
mens. 

Cortex, The bark. 

Cortical, Belonging to the bark. 

Corymb, Inflorescence, in which the 
flower stalks spring from different 
heights on the common stem, form- 
ing a flat top. 

Cotyledons, Seed lobes. The fleshy 
part of seeds which in most plants 
rises out of the ground and forms 
the first leaves, called seminal or 
seed leaves. 

Creeping, Running horizontally; stemg 
are sometinies creeping, as also roots. 



390 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



Cruciform, (From a-ux,crucis,a cross), 

Four petals pliiced like ft cross. 
Crural, Relating to tiie leg. 
Culinary, Suitable for preparations of 

food. 
Cuhn or Straio, The stem of grasses ; 

as Indian corn, sugar cane, etc. 
Culmlferous, Bearing culms j as wheat, 

grasses, etc. 
Cuneiform, Wedge-form, with the 

stalk attached to the point. 
Curved, Bent inwards. 
Culaneous, Relating to the skin. 
Cuticle, The outside skin of a plant, 

commonly thin, resembling the scarf 

or outer skin of animals. 
Cylindrical, A circular shaft of nearly 

equal dimensions throughout its ex 

tent. 

Deciduous, Falling off in the usual 
season ; opposed to persistent and 
evergreen, more durable than cadu- 
cous. 

Declined, Curved downwards. 

Decomposition, Separation of the che- 
mical elements of bodies. 

Decortication, The act of stripping off 
bark or husk. 

Deflected, Bent off. 

Defoliation, Sliedding leaves in the 
proper season. 

Deltoid, Nearly triangular, or diamond 
form, as in the leaves of the Lom- 
bardy poplar. 

Dendrology, The history of trees. 

Dense, Close ; compact. 

Dentate, Tootlied ; edged with sharp 
projections ; larger than serrate. 

Denticulate, Minutely toothed^ 

Depressed, Flattened, or pressed in at 
the top. 

Diaphoretic, Having the power to 
increase perspiration ; sudorific ; 
sweating. 

Dicotyledonous, With two cotyledons 
or seed lobes. 

Diffused, Spreading. 

Disk, The whole surface of a leaf, or 
of the top of a compound flower, as 
opposed to its rays. 

Diuretic, Tending to produce dis- 
charges of urine. 

Divaricate, Diverging so as to turn 
backwards. 

Diverging, Spreading ; separating 
widely. 

Drooping, Inclining downwards, more 
than nodding. 

Di-upe, A fleshy pericarp inclosing a 
stone or nut. 



Eliptic, Oval. 

Elongated, Exceeding a common 

length. 
Embryo, Pertaining to any thing in its 

first rudiments, or unfinished slate. 
Emetic, Inducing to vomit. 
Emollient, Softening; making suple ; 

rela.iiing tlie solids. 
Entire, Even and whole at the edge. 
Epidermis, See Cuticle. 
Equivocal, Uncertain ; proceeding 

from some unknown cause, or not 

from the usual cause. 
Esculent, Eatable. 
Etiolation, The operation of being 

whitened by excluding the light of 

the sun. 
Evergreen, Remaining green througli 

the )'ear, not deciduous. 
Exfoliate, To come- oft' in scales. 
Exotic, Plants that are brought from 

foreign countries. 
Expanded, Spread. 
Expectorant, Having the quality of 

promoting discharges from the lungs. 
Eye, Sec Hilum. 

Falcated, Sickle shaped. Linear and 
crooked. 

Farina, The pollen. Meal or flower. 

Farinaceous, containing meal, or farina. 

Fascicle, A bundle. 

Febrifuge, Relating to a fever. 

Fertile, Pistillate, yielding fruit. 

Fibre, Any thread-like part. 

Filament, The slender thread-like part 
of the stamen. 

Filiform, Very slender. 

Flaccid, Too limber to support its 
own weiglit. 

Fleshy, Thick and pulpy. 

Floret, A little flower ; part of a com- 
pound flower. 

Flower stalk, See Peduncle. 

Foliaceous, Leafy. 

Follicle, A seed vessel which opens 
lengthwise, or on one side only. 

Foot stalk, Sometimes used instead of 
Peduncle and Petiole. 

Forked, Divided into two equal 
branches. 

Fructification, The flower and fruit 
with their parts. 

Fungi, the plural of Fungus; a mush- 
room. 

Fungous, Growing rapidly, with a 
soft texture like the fungi. 

Gallic, Belonging to galls or oak apples. 

Gemma, A bud. 

Generic name, The name of a genus. 



APPEND15C. 



391 



Genus, (The plural of genus is genera), 
a family of plants agreeing in their 
flower and fruit. Plants of the same 
genus are thought to possess similar 
medical powers. 

Germ, The lower part of the pistil 
wliich afterwards becomes the fruit. 

Germination, The swellbig of a seed, 
and the unfolding of its embryo. 

Gibbous, Swelled out commonly on 
one side. 

Glabrous, Sleek, without hairiness. 

Glandular, Having hairs tipped with 
little heads or glands. 

Glaucous, Sea green, mealy, and easi- 
ly rubbed off. 

Glutinous, Viscid ; adhesive. 

Gramina, Grasses and grass like 
plants. Mostly found in the class 
Triandria. 

Gramineous, Grass-like. 

Grandiflorous, Having large fiowers. 

Granulur, Formed of grains, or cover- 
ed with grains. 

Grooved, Marked with deep lines. 

Habit, The external appearance of a 

plant, by which it is known at first 

sight, without regard to botanical 

distinctions. 
Hair-like, See Capillary. 
Hanging, See Pendant. 
Head, A dense collection of flowers, 

nearly sessile. 
Heart, See Corculum and Corcle. 
Heart-form, See Cordate. 
Herb, A plant which has not a woody 

stem. 
Herbaceous, Not woody. 
Herbage, Every part of a plant except 

the root and fructification. 
Herbarium, A collection ofdried plants. 
Hermaphrodite, Designating both sexes 

in the same animal, flower or plant. 
Hexagonal, Six-cornered. 
Hilum, The scar or mark on a seed, 

at the place of attachment of the 

seed to the seed vessel. 
Horizontal, Parallel to the horizon. 
Humid, Moist. 
Husk, The larger kind of glume, as 

the husks of Indian corn. 
Hybcrnalis, Growing in winter. 
Hybrid, A vegetable produced by the 

mixture of two species, the seeds of 

hybrids are not fertile. 

Ichor, A thin watery humor, like 

serum or whey. 
Imbricate, Lying over, like scales, or 

the shingles of a roof. 



Included, Wholly received, or con- 
tained in a cavity ; the opposite of 
exsert. 

Indigenous, Native, growing wild in 
a eountry, (some e.Kotics after a 
time, spread and appear as if indi- 
genous.) 

Indurated, Becoming hard. 

Inferior, Below ; a calyx or corolla is 
inferior when it comes out below the 
germ. 

Inflorescence, The manner in which 
flowers are connected to the plant 
by the peduncle, as in the whorle, 
raceme, etc. 

Irregular, Differing. in figure, size or 
proportion of parts among them- 
selves. 

Irrigation, The act of watering or 
moistening. 

Inserted, Growing out of, or fixed 
upon. 

Intermittent, Ceasing at intervals. 

Integument, The covering which in- 
vests the body, as the skin or mem- 
brane that invests a particular part. 

Internode, The space between joints j 
as in the grasses. 

Involucrum, A kind of general calyx 
serving for many flowers, generally 
situated at the base of an umbel or 
head. 

Involute, Rolling inwards. 

Kernel, See Nucleus. 
Kidney-shaped, Heart-shaped without 
the point, and broader than long. 

Labiate, Having lips ; as in the class 
Did\'namia. 

Laciniate, Jagged ; irregularly torn ; 
lacerated. 

Lamellated , In thin [dates. 

Lamina, The broad or flat end of a 
petal, in distinction from its claw. 

Lanceolate, Spear-shaped, narrow with 
both ends acute. 

Lateral, On one side. 

Latent, Hidden, concealed, (from lateo, 
to hide.) 

Leaflet, A partial leaf, part of a com- 
pound leaf. 

Leaf stalk. See Petiole. 

Legume, A pod or pericarp, having 
its seeds attached to one side or su- 
ture; as the pea and bean. 

Legtiminous , Bearing legumes. 

Liber, The inner bark. 

Ligneous, Woody. 

Lignum, The hard part of wood; the 
heart wood. 



392 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



Liliaceous, A corolla with six petals 
gradually spreading from the base. 

Limb, The border or spreading part of 
a monopetalous corolla. 

Lobe, A large division, or distinct 
portion of a leaf or petal. 

Log, The trunk or body of a timber 
tree prepared for the sawyer. 

Lubricating, Rendering smooth and 
slippery. 

Lymph, Water, or a colorless fluid in 
animal bodies, separated from the 
blood and contained in certain ves- 
sels called lymphatics. 

Margin, The edge or border. 
Maritime, Growing near the sea. 
Medulla, The pith. 
Melliferous, Producing or containing 

honey. 
Membranous, Very thin and delicate. 
Mesh, The opening or space between 

the threads of a net. 
Midrib, or Midriff, The main or middle 

rib of a leaf running from the stem to 

the apex. 
Miscible, That which may be mixed. 

Miked, Destitute of parts usually found. 

Narcotic, Causing stupor, or insensi- 
bility to pain ; inducing sleep. 

JVatural character, That which is ap- 
parent, having no reference to any 
particular method of classification. 

J^ectarium, or Nectary, Tfie part of a 
flower which produces honey ; this 
term is applied to any appendage of 
the flower which has no other name. 

Nerves, Parallel veins. 

Nerved, Marked with nerves, so called, 
though not organs of sensibility like 
the nerves in the animal system. 

Nodding, Partly drooping. 

Nucleus, Nut, or kernel. 

Nut, Nux, See Nucleus. 

Oblique, A position between horizontal 

and vertical. 
Oblong, Longer than oval, with the 

sides parallel. 
Obtuse, Blunt ; rounded ; not acute. 
Oleaginous, Having the qualities of 

oil ; unctuous. 
Opaque, Not transparent. 
Opthalmia, Inflammation of the eye 

or its appendages. 
Opiate, A medicine that has the quality 

ofinducing sleep or repose; a narcotic. 
Oval-acuminate, A leaf is oval-acumi- 
nate when one end is round and the 

other pointed. 



Ovary or Ovarium, The base of the 

pistil, which fertilized, produces a 

new plant. 
Ovate, Egg-shaped ; oval with the 

lower end largest. 
Oviparous, Animals produced from 

eggs } as birds, etc. 
Ovum, An egg. 

Palmated, Hand-shaped ; divided so 
as to resemble the hand with the 
fingers spread. 

Panicle, A loose, irregular bunch of 
flowers with subdivided branches ; as 
the oat. 

Panicled, Bearing panicles. 

Parenchyma, A succulent vegetable 
substance; the cellular substance; 
the thick part of leaves between the 
opposite surfaces ; the pulpy part of 
fruits; as in the apple, etc. 

Parted, Deeply divided ; more than 
cleft. 

Partial, Used in distinction to general. 

Partition, The membrane which di- 
vides pericarps into cells, called the 
dissepiment. It is parallel when it 
unites with the valves where they 
unite with each other. It is coU' 
trary or transverse when it meets a 
valve in the middle, or in any part 
not at its suture. 

Pedicle, A little stalk or partial pe- 
duncle. 

Peduncle, A stem bearing the flower 
and fruit. 

Pellicle, A thin membraneous coat. 

Pendant, Hanging down ; pendulous. 

Pentangular, Having five corners or 
angles. 

Perennial, Lasting more than two 
years. 

Perforate, Having holes as if pricked 
through; differs from ^MWcfaZe, which 
has dots resembling holes. 

Pericarp, A seed vessel or whatever 
contains the seed. 

Permanent, Any part of a plant is 
said to be permanent when it remains 
longer than is usual for similar parts 
in most plants. 

Petal, The leaf of a corolla usually 
colored. 

Petiole, The stalk which supports the 
leaf. 

Physiology, Derived from the Greek, 
a discourse of nature. 

Phytology, The science which treats 
of the organization of vegetables, 
nearly synonymous with the physi- 
ology of vegetables. 



APPENDIX. 



393 



Pinnate, A leaf is pinnate when the 
leaflets are arranged in two rows on 
tlie side of a common petiole ; as in 
the rose. 
Finic, Relating to pine. 
Pistil, The central organ of most 
flowers, consisting of the germ, style 
and stigma. 
Pistillate, Having pistils but no sta- 
mens. 
Pith, The spongy substance in the 
centre of tiie roots and stems of most 
plants. 
Plaited, Folded like a fan. 
Plane, Flat with an even surface. 
Plumula or Plume, The ascending 
part of a plant at its first germination. 
Pod, A dry seed vessel, not pulpy, 
most commonly applied to legumes 
and siliques. 
Poles, Shoots from coppice stools on 
the stems of young trees of various 
lengths, according to the purpose for 
which they are wanted ; those for 
hops should be from ten to eighteen 
feet long. 
Pollen, The dust which is contained 

within the anthers. 
Polygamous, Having some flowers 
which are perfect, and others with 
stamens only or pistils only. 
Pome, A pulpy fruit, containing a 

capsule ; as the apple. 
Porous, Full of holes. 
Priclde, Differs from the thorn in 
being fixed to the bark ; the thorn is 
fixed to the wood. 
Prinus, The ancient name of an oak 
which inhabited moist places ; the 
Holm Oak. 
Prismatic, Having several parallel flat 

sides. 
Process, A projecting part. 
Prop, Tendrils and otlier climbers. 
Pscudo, when prefixed to a word it 

implies obsolete or false. 
Pubescent, Hairy ; downy or woolly. 
Pulmonarij, Relating to the lungs; 

affecting the lungs. 
Pulp, The juicy cellular substance of 

berries and other fruits. 
Pungent, Sharp ; acrid ; piercing. 
Purgative, See Cathartic. 



which afterwards forms the root ; 
also the minute fibres of a root. 
Ramify, To shoot into branches. 
Rny, The outer margin of a compound 

flower. 
Recfptacle, The end of a flower stalk; 
the base to which the different 
parts of fructifications are usually 
attached. 
Reclined, Bending over with the end 

inclining towards the ground. 
Refrigerant, Cooling ; allaying the 

heat. 
Resin, An inflammable substance, hard 
when cool, but viscid when heated, 
exuding in a fluid state from certain 
kinds of trees, as pine, either spon- 
taneously or by incision. 
Rho7iihoid, Diamond-form. 
Rib, A nerve-like support to a leaf. 
Rigid, Stiff, not pliable. 
Ring, The band around the capsules 

of ferns. 
Root, The descending part of a vege- 
table. 
Rootlet, A fibre of a root; a little root. 
RosaceoJis, A corolla formed of round- 
ish spreading petals without claws, 
or with very short ones. 
Rubefacient, in medicine a substance 
or external application which excites 
redness of the skin. 
Rubra, Red. 
Rugose, Wrinkled. 
Rupestris, Growing among rocks. 



Radiate, The ligulate florets around 
the margin of a compound flower. 

Radicular, The ramifications, or smaller 
fibres of the root. 

Radix, A root. 

Radical, Growing from the root. 

Radicle, The part of the corculum 
50 



Saccharine, Pertaining to sugar or 

having the qualities of sugar. 
Sap, The watery fluid contained in 
the tubes and little cells of vegetables. 
Sapliiig, A young tree under six 
inches diameter at four feet from 
the ground ; in some places it is 
used to denote a young tree raised 
iumiediately from the seed, which is 
them termed a maiden tree; in 
others it is considered a young tree, 
the produce of a coppice stool, old 
root, or stub, and, by a few, a long 
young tree, the produce of either. 
Savanna, An extensive plain or mead- 
ow. 
Scions, Shoots proceeding laterally 

from the roots or bulbs of a root. 
Secernent, That which promotes se- 
cretion. 
Segment, A part or principal division 

of a leaf, calyx or corolla. 
Seminal, Pertaining to seed, or to the 

elements of production. 
Serrate, Notched like the teeth of a saw. 



394 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



Serrulate, Minutely serrate. 
Sessile, Sitting down ; placed imme- 
diately on the main stem without a 
foot stalk. 
Shaky, shakes, The fissures, cracks or 
longitudinal openings often found in 
the timber of trees which have suf- 
fered from injudicious culture and 
an ungenial soil. 
Sheath, A tubular or folded leafy 
portion including within it the stem. 
Shoot, Each tree and shrub sends 
forth annually a large shoot in the 
spring, and another in June. 
Shrub, A plant with a woody stem, 
branching out nearer the ground 
than a tree, usually smaller. 
Sinus, A bay ; applied to the plant, a 
rounded cavity in the edge of the 
leaf or petal. 
Slivery, Small, straight shoots of large 
ash, etc., cleft into hoops for the 
purposes of the cooper. 
Spatula, A slice. 

Species, The lowest division of vege- 
tables. 
Specific, Belonging to a species only. 
Spike, A kind of inflorescence in 
which the flowers are sessile, or 
nearly so; as in the mullein, or wheat. 
Spine, A thorn or sharp process grow- 
ing from the wood. 
Spiral, Twisted like a screw. 
Sprig of icood. In some instances 
understood as the branches of a tree. 
Spur, A sharp hollow projection from 

a flower, commonly the nectary. 
Squamosus, Scaly. 

Stamen, That part of the flower on 
which the artificial classes are 
founded. 
Staminate, Having stamens without 

pistils. 
Standard, The shoots of a coppice 
stool, selected from those cut down 
as underwood to remain for large 
poles or timber trees. 
Stem, The body of a tree in all its 
stages of growth, from a seedling to 
that of a full-grown tree. 
Sterile, Barren. 
Stigma, The summit, or top of the 

pistil. 
Stipe, The stem of a fern, or fungus ; 
also the stem of the down of seeds, 
as in the dandelion. 
Stipule, A leafy appendage, situated 

at the base of petioles, or leaves. 
Stomachic, Strengthening to the stom- 
ach ; exciting the action of the 
stomach. 



Stool, The root of a tree which has 

been left in the ground ; the produce 

of another tree, or shoot for saplings, 

underwood, etc. 

Striated, Marked with fine parallel 

lines. 
Stub, See Stool. 
Style, That part of the pistil which is 

between the stigma and the germ. 
Styptic, Tliat stops bleeding ; having 
the quality ofrestraining hemorrhage. 
S^ibsessile, Almost sessile. 
Succulent, Juicy ; it is also applied to 

a pulpy lei'.f, whether juicy or not. 
Sucker, Properly the young plants 
sent up by creeping-rooted trees, as 
in the poplar, elm, etc. These 
suckers are oftentimes very trouble- 
some, under the circumstance of 
their often appearing in lawns, or 
grass fields near a mansion. The 
term sucker is also applied in some 
places, to denote the side shoots 
from a stool or stub. 
Sudorific, Causing sweat; exciting per- 
spiration. 
Silicate, Furrowed; marked with deep 

lines. 
Superior, A calyx or corolla, is supe- 
rior, when it proceeds from the upper 
part of the germ. 
Synopsis. A condensed view of a sub- 
ject or science. 
Sylvestris, Growing in woods. 

Tannin, The astringent substance con- 
tained in vegetables, particularly in 
the bark of the oak and chesnut, 
and in gall nuts. 
Tap root, The first root produced by 
the seed of a tree, which descends 
at first perpendicularly into the earth, 
and supports the plant until the 
proper leaves are produced, which, 
in their turn, assist in the production 
of fibres or proper roots. 
Tegument, The skin or covering of 
seeds ; often bursts off" on boiling, as 
in the pea. 
Temperature, The degree of heat and 
cold to which any place is subject, 
not wholly dependant upon latitude, 
being affected by elevation ; the 
mountains of the torrid zone produce 
the plants of the frigid zone. In 
cold regions, white and blue petals 
are more common ; in warm regions, 
red and other vivid colors ; in the 
spring we have more white petals, 
in the autumn more yellow ones. 
Tendril, A filiform or thread-like 



APPENDIX. 



395 



appendage of some climbing plants, 
bv which they are supported by 
twining round otiier objects. 

Terminal, Extreme ; situated at the end. 

Tetragonal, Having four angles or 
sides. 

Thorn, A sharp process from the 
woody part of the plant ; considered 
as an imperfect bud indurated. 

Tovicntosc, Downy ; covered with fine 
matted pubescence. 

Tonic, Increasing strength, or the tone 
of liie animal system ; obviating the 
effect of debility, and restoring 
healthy functions. 

Toothrd, See Dentate. 

Trachea;, Names given to vessels sup- 
posed to be designed for receiving 
and distributing air. 

Transverse, Crosswise. 

Trifid, Three cleft. 

Truncate, Having a square termination, 
as if cut off. 

Trunk, The stem or bole of a tree. 

Tube, The lower hollow cylinder of 
a monopetalous corolla. 

r?<icro?<s, Thick and fleshy; containing 
tubers, as the potato. 

Tubular, Shaped like a tube ; hollow. 

Umbel, A kind of inflorescense in 
which the flower stalks diverge 
from one centre, like the sticks of 
an umbrella. 

Umbelliferous, bearing umbels. 

Unctuous, Greasy ; oily. 

Undulate, Waving; serpentine; gently 
rising and falling. 

Univocal, Certain ; regular ; pursuing 
always one tenor. 

Vacuum, Space empty or devoid of all 

matter or body. 
Valves, The parts of a seed vessel into 

which it finally separates ; also, the 

leaves which make up a glume, or 

spatha. 



Variety, A subdivision of a species, 
distinguished by characters which 
are not permanent ; varieties do not 
with certainty produce their kind by 
their seed. All apples are but vari- 
eties of one species ; if the seeds of 
a sour apple be planted, they will 
produce, perhaps, some sweet apples, 
some of a green color, some red: 
there are as many trees of different 
kinds of fruit, as there are seeds 
planted. The quince is a species of 
the same genus, or family, as the 
apple; but, the seed of a quince has 
never been known to produce an 
apple tree. 

Vascular, Pertaining to the vessels of 
animal or vegetable bodies. 

Veined, Having the divisions of the 
petiole irregularly branched on tho 
under side of the leaf. 

Ventricose, Swelled out. 

Vernal, Appearing in the spring. 

Vertical, Perpendicular. 

Vesicular, Made up of cellular sub- 
stance. 

Viridis, Green. 

Viscid, Thick; glutinous; covered with 
adhesive moisture. 

Vitellus, Called also the yolk of the 
seed ; it is between the albumen 
and embryo. 

FtmparoM^, Producing others by means 
of bulbs or seeds, germinating while 
yet on the old plant. 

Volatile, Capable of wasting away, or 
of easily passing into the aeriform 
state. 

Wedge-form^ Shaped like a wedge; 

rounded at the large end ; obovate 

with straightish sides. 
Wings, The two side petals of a 

papilionaceous flower. 
Wood, The most solid parts of trunks 

of trees and shrubs. 



INDEX. 



PART I. 

Access of atmospheric air upon plants, 63 

Access of moisture upon plants, 63 

Action of heat upon plants, 62 

Albumen, 41 

Alburnum, 17 

Anatomy of the root, 13 

Anatomy of the trunk or stem, . 14 

Anatomy of the buds, 20 

Anatomy of the branches, 25 

Anatomy of thorns, 26 

Anatomy of prickles, 26 

Anatomy of the flower stalk and foot stalk, 26 

Anatomy of the tendrils, 26 

Anatomy of the leaves, 30 

Anatomy of the seeds, 40 

Blight, 74 

Calyx, 37 

Casualties affecting the life of vegetables, 70 

Cellular integument, . . 15 

Conditions necessary to germination, 60 

Contortion of plants, . ' 80 

Consumption of plants, 81 

Corolla or blossom, 37 

Cortex or bark, 15 

Decay of the temporary organs of plants, 83 

Decay of the permanent organs of plants, 89 

Destruction of the bark, 73 

Destruction of the leaves, 73 



INDEX. 397 

Destruction of buds, 73 

Diseases of plants, 74 

Dropsy, 76 

Embryo or germ, 40 

Epidermis, 14 

Etiolation of plants, 79 

Exclusion of lig-ht from plants, ........ 61 

Fall of the leaf, 83 

Pall of the flower, ^ 88 

Fall of the fruit, 88 

Flux of the juices of plants, 77 

Food of plants, 66 

Gangrene, 78 

General texture of plants, . . 12 

Germination and growth of plants, 58 

Hilum, 43 

Honeydew, 7g 

Leaves, color of, 34 

•Liber, 16 

Lignum or heart, 19 

Medulla or pith, jc) 

Mildew, 75 

Natural decay of plants, §2 

Nectary, 38 

Organs of reproduction, 36 

Ovary, 39 

Pistil, 38 

Receptacle, 38 

Sap vessels and sap, 27 

Seeds, ^q 

Seeds, maturity of, 61 

Smut, .74 

Stamens, 38 

Stigma, 39 

Style, 39 

Suffocation of plants, " qq 

Testa, 42 

Vitellus, 42 

Wood, magnified, 92 

Wounds, 7Q 

Wounds by boring, .71 

Wounds by felling, ycj 

Wounds by girdling, ^2 

Wounds by grafting, yo 

Wounds by incision, yQ 

Wounds by pruning, 72 



398 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



PART II. 



Latin and English Names. 



Abies alba, White or Single Spruce, 
Abies balsamifera, American Silver Fir, 
Abies canadensis, Hemlock Spruce, 
Abies nigra. Black or Double Spruce, 
Acer eriocarpum, White Maple, 
Acer montanuitn. Mountain Maple, 
Acer negundo, Ash-Leaved Maple, 
Acer nigrum, Black Sugar Maple, 
Acer rubrum, Red-Flowering Maple, 
Acer saccharinum. Sugar Maple, 
Acer striatum, Striped Maple, 
Alnus glauca. Black Alder, 
Alnus serrulata. Common American Alder. 
Andromeda arborea, Sorel Tree, 
Anona triloba, Paiopaw, . 
Betula lenta. Black Birch, 
Betula lutea. Yellow Birch, 
Betula papyrvacea. Canoe Birch, 
Betula populifolia. White Birch, 
Betula rubra. Red Birch, 
Bignonia catalpa, Catalpa, 
Carpinus americana, American Hornbeam 
Carpinus ostrya, Iron Wood, . 
Castanea pumUa, Chinquapin, 
Castanea vesca, American Chesnut, 
Celtis crassifolia. Hack Berry, 
Celtis occidentalis, American JVettle Tree 
Cerasus borealis. Red Cherry Tree, 
Cerasus caroliniana, Wild Orange !ZVee< 
Cerasus virginiana. Wild Cherry Tree, 
Chamserops palmetto. Cabbage Tree, 
Cornus florida. Dog Wood, 
Cupressus disticha. Cypress, . 
Cupressus thyoides, White Cedar, 
Diospyros virginiaha, Persimon, 
Pagus ferruginea, Red Beech, 
Fagus sylvestris, White Beech, 
Fraxinus americana. White Ash, 
Fraxinus platycarpa, Carolinian Ash 



93 
95 
96 
98 
100 
102 
103 
104 
106 
108 
113 
114 
115 
116 
117 
118 
120 
121 
123 
124 
126 
127 
128 
130 
131 
133 
134 
135 
136 
137 
139 
141 
143 
146 
149 
151 
152 
154 
155 



INDEX. 



399 



Fraxinus quadrangulata, Blue Ash, 

Fraxinus sambucifolia, Black Ash, 

Fraxinus tomentosa, Red Ash, 

Fraxinus Viridis, Green Ash, . 

Gleditschia monosperma, Water Locust, 

Gleditschia triacanthos, Siveet Locust, 

Gordonia lasyanthus, Loblolly Bay, 

Gordonia pubescens, Franklinia, 

Gymocladus canadensis, Coffee Tree, 

Hopea tinctoria, Sweet Leaf, . 

Ilex opaca, American Holly, 

Juglans amara, Bittemut Hickoi-y, . 

Juglans aquatica, IFater Bittemut Hickory 

Juglans cathartica, Butternut, 

Juglans laciniosa, Thick Shellbark Hickory, 

Juglans myristicaBformis, JVutmeg Hickory, 

Juglans nigra, Black Walnut, 

Juglans olivaeformis, Pacanenut Hickoiy. 

Juglans porcina, Pignut Hickory, . 

Juglans squamosa, Shellbark Hickory, 

Juglans tomentosa, Mockernut Hickoi-y, 

Juniperus virginiana. Red Cedar, 

Kalmia latifolia. Mountain Laurel, 

Larix americana, American Larch, 

Laurus caroliniensis. Red Bay, 

Laurus sassafras, Sassctfras, 

Liquidambar styraciflua, Siveet Gum, 

Liriodendron tulipifera, Poplar or Tulip Tree, 

Magnolia acuminata, Cucumber Tree, 

Magnolia auriculata, Long-Leaved Cucumber Tree, 

Magnolia cordata, Heart-Leaved Cucumber Tree, 

Magnolia glauca. Small Magnolia or White Bay, . 

Magnolia grandiflora. Big Laurel, 

Magnolia marcrophylla, Large-Leaved Umbrella Tree, 

Magnolia tripetala. Umbrella Tree, 

Malus coronaria. Crab Apple, . 

Mespilus arborea, June Berry, 

Morus rubra. Red Mulberry, 

Nyssa aquatica, Tupelo, 

Nyssa capitata. Sour Tupelo, . 

Nyssa grandidentata. Large Tupelo 

Nyssa sylvatica. Black Gum, . 

Olea americana. Devil Wood, . 

Pavia Lute a. Large Buckeye, 

Pavia ohioensis, Ohio Buckeye or American Horse Chesnut 

Pinckneya pubens, Georgia Bark, .... 



156 

157 

159 

160 

161 

162 

164 

165 

166 

167 

169 

170 

172 

173 

176 

177 

178 

181 

183 

184 

187 

189 

191 

193 

195 

196 

199 

202 

205 

207 

208 

209 

210 

212 

213 

214 

216 

217 

219 

220 

222 

223 

225 

226 

227 

228 



400 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

Pinus australis, Long-Leaved Pine, ,.,... 229 

Pinus inops, JVeiv Jersey Pine, . . ' 234 

Pinus mitis, Yellow Pine, 235 

Pinus pungens, Table Mountain Pine, 236 

Pinus rigida, Pitch Pine, 237 

Pinus rubra, Red or JSforway Pine, 239 

Pinus rupestris, Gray Pine, 240 

Pinus serotina, Pond Pine, 241 

Pinus strobus, JVhite Pine, 242 

Pinus toeda, Loblolly Pine, 245 

Planera ulmifolia, Planer Tree, 246 

Platanus occidentalis, Button Wood or Sycamore, . . . 247 

Populus angulata, Carolinian Poplar, 251 

Populus argentea, Cotton Tree, 252 

Populus canadensis, Cotton Wood, 253 

Populus candicans, Heart-Leaved Balsam Poplar, . . . 254 

Populus grandidentata, American Large Aspen, .... 255 

Populus hudsonica, American Black Poplar, 255 

Populus monilifera, Virginian Poplar, 256 

Populus tremuloides, American Aspen, 257 

Quercus alba, TVliite Oak, 258 

Quercus ambigua. Gray Oak, ....... 261 

Quercus aquatica, Water Oak, 262 

Quercus banisteri, Bear Oak, 263 

Quercus cinera. Upland Willow Oak, 264 

Quercus catesbsei. Barrens Scrub Oak, 265 

Quercus coccinea. Scarlet Oak, 266 

Quercus falcata, Spaiiish Oak, 267 

Quercus ferruginea. Black Jack Oak, 269 

Quercus heterophylla, Bartram Oak, 270 

Quercus imbricaria, Laurel Oak, 271 

Quercus lyrata. Over- Cup Oak, 262 

Quercus macrocarpa, Over-Cup Jfliite Oak, 274 

Quercus obtusiloba. Post Oak, 275 

Quercus olivaeformis, Mossy-Cup Oak, 277 

Quercus palustris, Pin Oak 278 

Quercus phellos, Willoiv Oak, 279 

Quercus prinus acuminata. Yellow Oak, 281 

Quercus prinus chinquapin, Small Chesnut Oak, .... 282 

Quercus prinus discolor. Swamp WTiite Oak, .... 283 

Quercus prinus monticola. Rock Chesnut Oak, .... 284 

Quercus prinus palustris, Chesnut White Oak, .... 286 

Quercus pumila. Running Oak, 287 

Quercus rubra. Red Oak, 288 

Quercus tinctoria, Black or Quercitron Oak, .... 289 

Quercus virens, Live Oak, 293 



INDEX. 



4o; 



Rhododendron maximum, Dwarf Rose Bay, 

Robinia pseudo acacia, Locust, 

Robinia viscosa, Rose-Flowering Locust 

Salix ligustrina, Champlain Willow, 

Salix lucida, Shining Willoio, 

Salix nigra. Black Willow, 

Thuja occidentalis, American Arbor Vitee 

Tilia alba, White Lime 

Tilia americana, American Lime or Ba^s Wood, 

Tilia pubescens. Downy Lime Tree, 

Ulmus alata, Wahoo, 

Ulmus americana, Wlrite Elm, 

Ulmus rubra, Red or Slippery Elm, 

Virgilia lutea, Yellow Wood, . 



29^4 
296 
299 
300 
300 
301 
302 
304 
305 
307 
308 
309 
311 
313 



English and Latin Names. 



American Arbor Vitse, Thuja occidentalis, 

American Aspen, Populus tremuloides, . 

American Black Poplar, Populus hudsonica, 

American Chesnut, Castanea vesca, 

American Holly, Ilex opaca, .... 

American Hornbeam, Carpinus americana, . 

American Larch, Larix americana, 

American Large Aspen, Populus grandidentata, 

American Nettle Tree, Celtis occidentalis, 

American Silver Fir, Abies balsamifera, 

Ash-Leaved Maple, Acer negundo, 

Barrens Scrub Oak, Quercus catesbaei, . 

Bartram Oak, Quercus heterophUla, 

Bass Wood or American Lime, Tilia americana. 

Bear Oak, (Quercus banisteri, .... 

Big Laurel, Magnolia grandijlara, 

Bitternut Hickory, Juglans amara, 

Black Alder, Alnus glauca, .... 

Black Ash, Fraxinus sambucifolia. 

Black Birch, Betula lenta, .... 

Black Gum, JVyssa sylvatica, .... 

Black Jack Oak, Quercus ferruginea, 

Black or Quercitron Oak, Quercus tinctoria, 

Black or Double Spruce, Abies nigra, 

Black Sugar Maple, Acer nigrum, . 

Black Walnut, iJuglans nigra. 

Black Willow, Salix nigra, . . ■ ■ 

Blue Ash, Fraxinus quadrangulata, 

51 



302 
257 
255 
131 
169 
127 
193 
255 
134 

95 
103 
265 
270 
305 
263 
210 
170 
114 
157 
118 
223 
269 
289 

98 
104 
178 
301 
156 



402 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

Butternut, Juglans cathartica, • 173 

Button Wood or Sycamore, Platanus occidentalis, . . . 247 

Cabbage Tree, ChamcBrops palmetto^ 139 

Canoe Birch, Betula papyracea, . . . . . . . 121 

Carolinian Ash, Fraxinus platycarpa^ 155 

Carolinian Poplar, Populus angulata, ...... 251 

Catalpa, Bignonia catalpa, 126 

Champlain Willow, Salix ligustriruty 300 

Chesnut White Oak, Quercus prinus palustris, .... 286 

Chinquapin, Castanea pumila, 130 

Coffee Tree, Gymnocladus canadensis, 166 

Common American Alder, Alnus seirulata, 115 

Cotton Tree, Populus argentea, 252 

Cotton Wood, Populus canadensis, 253 

Crab Apple, Malus cdronaria, 214 

Cucumber Tree, Magnolia acuminata, . . . . . . 205 

Cypress, Cupressus disticha, 143 

Devil Wood, Oka americana, 225 

Dogwood, Cornus Jlorida, 141 

Downy Lime Tree, IMia puhescens, 307 

Dwarf Rose Bay, Rhododendron maximum, 294 

Franklinia, Gordonia puhescens, 165 

Georgia Bark, Pinckneya pubens, . 228 

Gray Oak, Quercus ambigua, 261 

Gray Pine, Pinus rupestris, 240 

Green Ash, Fraxinus viridis, 160 

Hack Berry, Celtis crassifolia, . . . . ' . . . 133 

Heart-Leaved Balsam Poplar, Popidus candicans, . . . 254 

Heart-Leaved Cucumber Tree, Magnolia cordata, . . . 208 

Hemlock Spruce, Jlbies canadensis, 96 

Iron Wood, Carpinus ostrya, . . 128 

June Berry, Mespilus arborea, 216 

Large Buckeye, Pavia lutea, 226 

Large-Leaved Umbrella Tree, Magnolia macrophilla, . . 212 

Large Tupelo, J^yssa grandidentata, 222 

Laurel Oak, Quercus imbricaria, 271 

Live Oak, Quercus virens, 293 

Loblolly Bay, Gordonia lasyanthus, 164 

Loblolly Pine, Pinus tceda, 245 

Locust, Rohinia pseudo acacia, 296 

Long-Leaved Cucumber Tree, Magnolia auriculata, . . . 207 

Long-Leaved Pine, Pinus auslralis, 229 

Mockernut Hickory, Juglans tomentosa, 187 

Mossy-Cup Oak, Quercus olivfeformis, 277 

Mountain Laurel, Kalmia latifolia, 191 

Mountain Maple, Acer montanum,, 102 



INDEX. 



403 



New Jersey Pine, Pinus inops, 

Nutmeg Hickory, Juglans myristicaformis^ 

Ohio Buckeye or American Horse Chesnut, Pavia ohioensi 

Over-Cup Oak, Quercus lyrata, 

Over-Cup White Oak, Quercus macrocarpa, 

Pacanenut Hickory, Juglans oliviceformis, 

Pawpaw, Aiwna triloba, . 

Persimon, Diospyros virginiana, 

Pignut Hickory, Juglans porcina, 

Pin Oak, Quercus palustris, 

Pitch Pine, Pinus rigida, 

Planer Tree, Planera ulmifolia, 

Pond Pine, Pinus seroiina, 

Poplar or Tulip Tree, Zdriodendron tvlipifera. 

Post Oak, Querciw obtusiloba, . 

Red Ash, Praxinus tomentosa. 

Red Bay, Laurus caroliniensisy 

Red Beech, Fagus ferruginea, 

Red Birch, Betula rubra, 

Red Cedar, Juniperus virginiana, . 

Red Cherry Tree, Cerasus borealis. 

Red or Slippery Elm, Ulmus rubra, 

Red- Flowering Maple, Acer rubrum, 

Red Mulberry, Moms rubra, . 

Red Oak, Quercus rubra. 

Red or Norway Pine, Pinus rubra. 

Rock Chesnut Oak, Quercus prinus monticola 

Rose-Flowering Locust, Robinia viscosa. 

Running Oak, Quercus pumila, 

Sassafras, Laurus sassafras, . 

Scarlet Oak, Qiiercus coccinea, 

Shellbark Hickory, Juglans squamosa. 

Shining Willow, Salix lucida. 

Small Chesnut Oak, Quercu^ prinus chinquapin. 

Small Magnolia or White Bay, Magnolia glauca. 

Sorel Tree, Andromeda arbor ea. 

Sour Tupelo, JVyssa capitaia, 

Spanish Oak, Quercus faiccUa, 

Striped Maple, Acer striatum. 

Sugar Maple, Acer saccharinum, 

Swamp White Oak, Quercus prinus discolor. 

Sweet Gum, lAquidambar styracijlua. 

Sweet Leaf, Hopea tinctoria, . 

Sweet Locust, Gleditschia triacanthos, • 

Table Mountain Pine, Pinu^ pungens, . 

Thick Shellbark Hickory, Juglans la^iniosa. 



234 

177 

227 

262 

274 

181 

117 

149 

182 

278 

237 

246 

241 

202 

275 

159 

195 

151 

124 

189 

135 

811 

106 

817 

288 

239 

284 

299 

2iB7 

196 

266 

184 

300 

288 

909 

116 

220 

267 

118 

108 

S83 

199 

167 

16S 

336 

176 



404 



SYLVA AMEHICANA. 



Tupelo, JVyssa aquatica, 

Umbrella Tree, Magnolia tripdaia, 

Upland Willow Oak, Quercus cinera, 

Wahoo, Ulmus alata, .... 

Water Bitternut Hickory, Jiiglans aquatica, 

Water Locost, Gleditschia monosperma, 

Water Oak, (^uercus aquatica, 

White Ash, Fraxinus americana, . 

White Beech, Fagus sylvestris, 

White Birch, Betula populifolia, 

White Cedar, Cupressus thyoides, ■ 

White Elm, Ulmus americana, 

White Lime, THlia alba. 

White Maple, Acer eriocarpum, 

White Oak, Quercits alba, 

White or Single Spruce, Abies alba, 

White Pine, Pinus strobus, 

Wild Cherry Tree, Cerasus virginiana, 

Wild Orange Tree, Cerasus caroliniana, 

Willow Oak, Quercus phellos, 

Virginian Poplar, Popidus monilifera. 

Yellow Birch, Betula lutea, 

Yellow Oak, (^uercus prinus acuminata, 

Yellow Pine, Pinus initis, 

Yellow Wood, Virgilia lutea, 



219 
218 
264 
308 
172 
161 
262 
154 
152 
123 
146 
309 
304 
100 
258 
93 
242 
137 
136 
279 
256 
120 
281 
235 
313 



Provincial Names. 



Apple Pine, WTiite Pine, . . . . . . . . 242 

Assiminier, Pawpaw, . 117 

Bald Cypress, Cypress, . 143 

Balsam of Gilead, AmeHcan Silver Fir, 95 

Balsam Poplar, Heart-Leaved Balsam Poplar, .... 254 

Bar Oak, Over-Cup White Oak, 274 

Barrens Oak, Black Jack Oak, . 269 

Beaver Wood, Small Magnolia or White Bay, .... 209 

Big Buckeye, Large Buckeye, 226 

Birch, Red Birch, . . . . . . . . . ]24 

Black Cypress, Cypress, . . ... , . . 143 

Black Locust, Locust, 298 

Black Pine, Pitch Pine, 237 

Black Scrub Oak, Bear Oak, 263 

Black Sugar Tree, Black Sugar Maple, 104 



INDEX. 



405 



Bois Shavanon, Catalpa, 

Bois dur, Iron Wood, 

Bois inconnu, American JVettle Tree, 

Bouleau Blanc, Canoe Birch, 

Bouleau a canot, Canoe Birch, 

Box Elder, Ash-Leaved Maple, 

Box Wood, Dogivood, 

Box White Oak, Post Oak, 

Broom Pine, Long-Leaved Pine, 

Broom Hickory, Pignut Hickory, ■ 

Brown Ash, Black Ash, . 

Buckeye, American Horse Chesnut, 

Calico Tree, Mountain Laurel, 

Canadian Poplar, Cotton Wood, 

Canoe Wood, Poplar or Tulip Tree, 

Catawbaw Tree, Catalpa, 

Charme, American Hornbeam, 

Chene a lattes. Laurel Oak, . 

Chene a gros gland, Over-Cup White Oak, 

Cherry Birch, Black Birch, 

Chesnut Oak, Rock Chesnut Oak, . 

Chicot, Coffee Tree, 

Chinquapin Oak, Small Chesnut Oak, 

Common Hickory, Mockernut Hickoiy, 

Copalm, Sweet Gum, 

Cotton Tree, Buttomvood or Sycamore, 

Cotton Wood, Cotton Tree, 

Cypre, Cypress, .... 

Dwarf Oak, Bear Oak, .... 

Epinette blanche. White or Single Spruce, 

Epinette noire, Black or Double Spruce, 

Epinette a la biere. Black or Double Spruce, 

Epinette rouge, American Larch, 

Erable a Giguieres, Ash-Leaved Maple, 

Fevier, Sweet Locust, .... 

Fir Balsam, American Silver Fir, 

Georgia Pitch Pine, Long-Leaved Pine, 

Gloucester Walnut, Thick Shellbark Hickory, 

Green Locust, Locust, .... 

Gros Fevier, Coffee Tree, 

Gam Tree, Tupelo, .... 

Hackmatack, American Larch, 

Hard Maple, Sugar Maple, 

Hognut Hickory, Pignut Hickory, . 

Honey Locust, Sweet Locust, . 

Hoop Ash, Hack Berry, .... 



128 
134 
121 
121 
103 
141 
275 
229 
182 
157 
227 
191 
253 
202 
126 
127 
271 
274 
118 
284 
166 
282 
187 
200 
247 
252 
143 
262 
93 
98 
98 
193 
103 
162 
95 
229 
176 
298 
166 
219 
193 
108 
182 
162 
133 



406 SYLVA AMERICANA. 

Hornbeam, American Hornbeam, • 127 

Indian Physic, hong-Leaved Cucumber Tree, .... 207 

Iron Oak, Post Oak, 275 

Ivy, Mountain Laurel, 191 

Jack Oak, Black Jack Oak, Laurel Oak, ..... 271 

Juniper, White Cedar, 146 

Kisky Thomas Nut, Shellbark Hickory, 184 

Large Magnolia, Big Laurel, .211 

Laurel, Mountain Laurel, . . 191 

Laurier Tulipier, Big Laurel, • . 211 

Lever Wood, Iron Wood, .... .... 128 

Lime Tree, Downy Lime Tree, 307 

Low Maple, Mountain Maple, . 102 

Maple, Red-Flowering Maple, 106 

Magnolia, Small Magnolia or White Bay, 209 

Moose Elm, Red or Slippery Elm, 311 

Moose Wood, Striped Maple, , 113 

Mountain Mahogany, Black Birch, 118 

Noyer Tendre, Shellbark Hickory 184 

Noyer Dur, Mockernut Hickory, 187 

Oil Nut, Butternut, 173 

Old Field Birch, White Birch, . . • .... 123 

Orme Gras, Red or Slippery Elm, 311 

Pacanier, Pacanenut, . 181 

Paper Birch, Canoe Birch, 121 

Perusse, Hemlock Spruce, 96 

Pin Rouge, Red or Norway Pine, ....... 239 

Pipperidge, Tupelo, 219 

Pitch Pine, Long-Leaved Pine, 229 

Plane Tree, Buttonivood or Sycamore, 247 

Plaqueminier, Persimon, 149 

Pumpkin Pine, White Pine, 242 

Red Locust, Locust, 298 

Red Oak, Spanish Oak, 267 

Red Pine, Long-Leaved Pine, 229 

Red Spruce, Black or Double Spruce, 99 

Rock Maple, Black Sugar Maple, 104 

Rock Maple, Sugar Maple, 108 

Sap Pine, Pitch Pine, 238 

Sapling Pine, White Pine, 242 

Savin, Red Cedar, 189 

Scalybark Hickory, Shellbark Hickory, 184 

Scrub Pine, JVew Jersey Pine, • 234 

Shagbark Hickory, Shellbark Hickory, 184 

Short-Leaved Pine, Yellow Pine, 235 

Small Cherry, Red Cherry Tree, 135 



IND£X. 407 

Soft Maple, Red-Flowering Maple, 106 

Sour Gum, Black Gum, 223 

Sour Gum, Tupelo, ... 219 

Southern Pine, Long-Leaved Pine, . . . . ' . ' . 229 

Spruce Pine, Yellow Pine, 235 

Sugar Maple. Black Sugar Maple, 104 

Sugar Plum, June Berry, 216 

Sugar Tree, Black Sugar Maple, 104 

Swamp Chesnut Oak, Chesnut White Oak, 286 

Swamp Hickory, Bittemut Hickory, 170 

Swamp Maple, Red-Flowering Maple, 106 

Swamp Post Oak, Over-Cup Oak, 272 

Swamp Spanish Oak, Pin Oak, 378 

Swamp Sassafras, Small Magnolia or White Bay, . • . . 309 

Sweet Bay, Small Magnolia or White Bay, 30S> 

Sweet Birch, Black Birch, H^g 

Swiss Poplar, Virginian Poplar, 236 

Turkey Oak, Post Oak, . ,376 

Water Ash, Black Ash, 157 

Water Beech Buttonwood or Sycamore, 247 

Water White Oak, Over- Cup Oak, 273 

White Cedar, American Arbor Vitce, 302 

White Cypress, Cypress, 143 

White-Heart Hickory, Mockemut Hickory, 188 

White Hickory, Bittemut Hickary, 170 

White Locust, Locust, 298 

White Oak, Chesnut IVhite Oak, 286 

White Pine, Loblolly Pine, 345 

White Walnut, Butternut, 173 

White Wood, Poplar or Tulip Tree, ...... 202 

Wild Lime, Sour Tupelo, 221 

Wild Olive, Large Tupelo, . 222 

Wild Pear Tree, June Berry, 216 

Yellow Gum, Black Gum, 223 

Yellow Oak, Black or Quercitron Oak, 289 

Yellow Pine, Red or Norway Pine, 239 

Yellow Pine, Long-Leaved Pine, 229 

Yellow Poplar, Poplar or Tulip Tree, 204 



408 



SYLVA AMERICANA. 



PART III. 



Different Modes of Rearing Forest Trees, 
Earths and Soils, .... 
Earths and SoUs, formation of, 
Geological Structure of the Globe, 
Modes of Transplanting Forest Trees, 
Nursery and Plantation, 
Plantations, Culture of, . 
Propagation of Forest Tre es by Suckers, 
Propagation of Forest Trees by Layers, 
Propagation of Forest Trees by Cuttings, 
Propagation of Forest Trees by Grafting, 
Propagation of Forest Trees by Budding, 
Seeds of Forest Trees, .... 

Seeds, Sowing of, 

Seminary, 

Soils, Classification and Nomenclature of. 
Soils, Tabular View of, . 

SoUs, Qualities of, 

Soils, Discovering the Qualities of, Botanically, 

SoUs, Discovering the Qualities of, by Chemical Analysis, 

Soils, Discovering the Qualities of, Mechanically and Empyrically, 

Soils and Sites most profitably Employed in the Growth of Timber, 

Soils, Modes of Preparing for the Reception of Plants, 

Trees, Different Modes of Pruning, 

Trees, Proper Season for Felling, 

Trees, Process of Barking, 

Trees, Modes of Felling, 



399 
317 
319 
317 
348 
337 
374 
338 
338 
340 
341 
346 
332 
334 
330 
322 
324 
325 
325 
325 
,328 
363 
369 
376 
384 
384 
384 



Appendix. 

Glossary, 

Tabular View of the Qualities of Forest Trees, 



388 
386 



